"Behind intolerance there is always fear, regardless of the form of government under which the repression takes place." Moses I. Finley

Took a quick snowshoeing trip this afternoon. Made a few miles' worth of tracks in the dark and came home.
I'm always struck by the world you can make for yourself even in a group. A lot of why I go out there is the solitude that each person carries within themselves in the wild. You are many things in the urban world but out there you are and nothing more. Life in one of its many forms.
I don't pretend to be the most profound thinker. I never could even commit such a farce let alone pull it off but every so often I have a thought worth committing to this, our great new conciousness: outside that small bubble of your self-perceptions lies everything you are ignorant and, indeed, intolerant of. The pair of eyes staring back at yours becomes sinister even if it is only a squirrel. Ignorance breeds this fear in us. It is natural but it is fundamentally anti-social. Nature teaches us not only how to live alone and unaided but also illuminates that great dark question of why we live with other people. I know that I often find city life vexing at best and that it is so cut off from the half of my brain that is the seat of my emotions that the logic can only control me so long.
I really don't know if that makes much sense but it was an insight for me into who I am and so it is good. I just felt like sharing it with all of you.
that's all.