Out of touch

Isolated from the natural world and out of sync with its natural rhythms, some people view life-giving soil as inconsistent with modern notions of hygiene. Typically in a big city, we do not have much chance of physical contact with soil.

In time, many of us suffer from a kind of amnesia, not knowing whence we came, or to where we will return.

The ornate trappings of our civilization not only keep us busy, but also shut out the view of the real world.

We cease to know that our contact with nature is not only vital to our health, but essential to an understanding of the world. When our officials begin to view soil with suspicion, we have good reason to suspect the thinking and impulses of their statesmanship.

In "The Analects," Confucius reportedly asked several disciples what they felt they were capable of doing if their merits were recognized. Most spoke of their ambition in managing state affairs or directing wars.

But Confucius' approval went to a disciple whose reply was (in Ku Hweng-ming's translation) " ... in the latter days of spring ... I would then propose that we take along with our five or six grown-up young friends and six or seven still younger men.

"We will then bathe in that romantic river; after which we will go to the top of that ancient terrace to air and cool ourselves; and at last we will return, singing on our way as we loiter back to our homes."

As later explained by great Confucian scholar Zhu Xi (1130-1200), Confucius endorsed this view because this disciple alone seemed to enjoy truly what his present position afforded him. He is in total peace with his environment, where everything is in its proper place.