On Being

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Submit Your Reflection about "Restoring the Senses: Life, Gardening, and an Orthodox Easter."

Thanks (April 13, 2009)
What a wonderful program! Thank you for the thoughts of Vigen Guroian. What a wonderful way to celebrate Easter, I made sure to spend some time in my garden.

Marie Lynch
Roseville, Minnesota (KNOW, 91.1 FM)

Awareness and Smell (April 12, 2009)
I found a deep connection with your interview with Mr. Guroian. This was the first time I caught On Being while on road trip through Indiana. I am a Forester so have spent a number of years outdoors in my professional life.

I am avid gardner & sportsman and very much enjoy the pleasures our earth provides us.

I was struck by two things in your interview: awareness and sense of smell. In the fall of 1999 during an extremely busy time with my company it was as if the light suddenly turned on and I became more aware of the fall wildflowers and grasses. Their beauty had become more brilliant. Though I knew some by name, that no longer held importance as I was "aware" they were there and looked upon them with distinction. This is hard to convey in words but the feeling has never left and I hope it doesn't. The owl's hoot, the doe's snort, the crow's cry all sound with some heightened awareness I cannot explain. The woods are much more alive than they used to be. The woods have not changed but I have.

To speak of the sense of smell. I have many smell memories since I was a young child. However my sense of smell has heightened as well. It is usually associated with vegetation. It was always there, I just did not take time to notice. For example, did you ever notice the Gulf of Mexico smells different than Northeast Atlantic?

Bob Morris
Gerrardstown, West Virginia (WVEP, 88.9 FM)

Nothing New Under the Sun (April 12, 2009)
Enjoyed the show. Two points: Warn your listeners that in many places there are restrictions on transplanting wildflowers. It is usually a bad idea anyway as transplant survival is generally poor. Also, Mr. Guroian should be aware of Bruegel's "Hunters in the Snow," 1565. Bruegel's use of the flying bird in prominent location is usually interpreted as symbolic of the cross. Nothing new under the sun.

Thane Benson
North Andover, Massachusetts (WBUR , 90.9 FM)

Gardening & Healing (April 12, 2009)
It's Easter Sunday and I listened to your program as I waited for the temperature to rise above 32° so I can be more comfortable working in the garden. Vigen Guroian's sensory experiences and plant descriptions are so familiar. In addition, I work at home as a massage therapist. I specialize in body-centered trauma care which involves returning to sensory awareness to listen to and explore what the body requires to heal itself. I designed my garden as a demonstration of the sustainability that's possible when wild and cultivated, herbs, flowers, veggies, groundhogs, moles, voles, birds and deer co-exist.

Helping traumatized people learn to ground — to re-connect with the earth — is key to their healing, and the garden draws them back to earth.

I am Sicilian American. I garden because I can't not garden. It's in my blood. And, just like in Vigen's garden today, the blood root are blooming.

Thank you for your show. I love listening and always hear wonderful themes that I can use in my work and discuss with my friends and family.

Carol Springer
Willington, Connecticut (WNPR, 89.1 FM)

Gardening in Genesis (April 12, 2009)
Perhaps it's my Armenian mother coming out in me, but after listening to the Orthodox theologian on the sensual appreciation of the Genesis account, I see more clearly what inspired me to write about the creation of a telolfact to 'smell from afar' and a teletact to 'feel from afar' (as the telephone gives us a 'voice from afar.') Krista Tippett's interview evoked the feel and smell of gardening in a theological setting.

Grant Garber
Akron, Ohio (WKSU, 89.7 FM)

Trees (April 11, 2009)
I listen every week, I tell my son, 9 years old; it is because I have a love for ideas. Especially ideas dealing with the rational of and for our conscience. Week after week I connect with the many people you interview and relish in your ability to ask questions.

This day was the first however that something tangible leapt from the radio and mixed with my efforts. A number of years ago I wondered, If the reverence which has been given to the ideas of Jesus had been given to the tree, a tree, say a Chinese maple or box elder what would the world be like.

So I began to paint; and out came a series of trees dead and dying on a cross. I only wish now that I had kept them or photographed them so I could show them to you and Vigen Guroian who, like me, loves gardening so much.

Jose Avila
Colbert, Georgia (Listens to On Being OnDemand)

Let the Mystery Be (April 10, 2009)
Many Many Thanks to all at SOF, your program is one of my main weekly beacons that I truly cherish! Again I found much solace listening to this week's program. While listen to today's program I recall the SOF interview with John O'Donohue and the discussion regarding "Beauty" echoing through both interviews. Later when the discussion turned to gardening, Iris DeMent's song "Let the Mystery Be" echoed strong with:

"Some say once you're gone you're gone forever, and some say you're gonna come back. Some say you rest in the arms of the Saviour if in sinful ways you lack. Some say that they're comin' back in a garden, bunch of carrots and little sweet peas. I think I'll just let the mystery be."

Lastly, the poetry and ideas of David Whyte came to mind in so many ways!

Jose Avila
Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania (Listens to On Being OnDemand)

Orthodoxy on the Air (April 10, 2007)
What a pleasure to hear of Orthodox Christianity on public radio! Orthodoxy is America's fastest growing Christian discipline (for want of a better word), but it seems that I hear about only Evangelical and Roman Catholic people and theology on the news, whether NPR or another network. The beauty and meaning of all the Holy Week services (starting on the Monday prior to Pascha) build inexorably toward the release and joy of Pascha, sometime after 1 a.m. Sunday. When we prostrate ourselves, and place flowers Friday evening on the bier that represents the tomb on Christ, I am once again with His followers, especially the women: "He is dead. How can this be? What will we do without him?" My heart aches, even though I know what happens in three days. And so it goes, ever so beautifully, until with everyone in attendence, I can cry out "Christ is Risen! Indeed, He is risen." Thank you so much for this wonderful piece, so perfectly Orthodox!

Jo Anna Tobey
Silverton, OR (KOPB, 91.5 FM)

Beauty of an Orthodox Easter (April 9, 2007)
I was preparing my Easter paska to put into the Easter basket that we Russians bring to church to be blessed at the midnight service when your program came on the air. Although I now live an hour from the nearest Russian church, I always attend the lenten and Easter services. Your speaker so beautifully described the sensual spirituality that is the hallmark of the Orthodox services. His words were accompanied by a lovely version of "Our Father" in church Slavonic. Listening to his poetic descriptions and the metaphorical relationship to his garden made me anxious to get to church that night. My basket was packed with baked kolbasi, colored eggs, grated beets, and horseradish as well as the the paska, and I wasn't even worried about the dark mountainous road I had to drive at 10:30 at night. Thank you for adding an intellectual and emotional layer to my Easter tradition.

Madeline Hnatowich-Dean
Corralitos, CA (KAZU, 90.3 FM)

The Armenian Apostolic Church? (April 8, 2007)
I am of Armenian heritage so was very interested in today's discussion with Mr. Guroian. I am an Episcopalian, but my parents were, and I still have, relatives who are members of the Armenian church so am very familiar with its liturgy, etc. I was puzzled by the references to the Armenian Orthodox church — I know of no such church. What I know is the Armenian Apostolic Church, and its leaders are always very firm in identifying it that way. In some ways it may seem to be like the Greek or Russian Orthodox churches, but I was always taught that the Armenian Apostolic Church is totally independent. I would appreciate having further comments about this.

Lillian Kezerian
Hartford, CT (WNPR, 89.1 FM)

The Kalevala (April 8, 2007)
In listening to your guest Vigen Guroian this morning, he mentioned how the creation story sounds to him as though God were singing everything into being. He mentioned how C.S. Lewis used this image in his Narnia story. I wondered if Mr. Guroian is aware of the Finnish myth called the Kalevala. I believe it is pre-Christian, and I know that Longfellow was inspired by its rhythm and rhyme scheme when writing "The Song of Hiawatha."

The point of all of this is that in the Kalevala, Vainamoinen who is the creator (not a god necessarily) sings all things into creation. I think that this points to the fact that many cultures carry a recognition of the truths of creation and of our spiritual origins, and that these ideas are sometimes lost to our modern, Christian interpretation because they are couched in the metaphors and images of cultures that we do not always understand or even try to understand.

I was curious of how Mr. Guroian views the ideas of other cultures and/or religions in relation to his ideas.

Gerry LoDolce
Spring City, PA (WHYY, 91.0 FM)

We're Still in Eden (April 8, 2007)
I loved the reflections given on this program. Being a somewhat clumsy gardener, I'm amazed at the resiliency of plants and the willingness of the earth to respond to my efforts. Perhaps they can sense my love for them.

I believe that we all have an urge to create, to see things grow, and that urge is in us because we are made in the image of our Creator. Vigen Guroian's beautiful thought that Eden is still here, that we've never completely left it, brought to mind some words from one of my favorite movies:

"We live in Eden.
We've never left the Garden.
Look about you— this is Paradise.
It's hard to find, I grant you,
But it is here.
It's under our feet,
Beneath the surface,
All around us,
Everything we want.
The earth is shining under the soot…
—They Might Be Giants - James Goldman, author

Frances Jackson
St. Louis, MO (KWMU, 90.7 FM)

Armenia (April 8, 2007)
In 2004 I had the great honor and pleasure to visit Yerevan, Armenia and can therefore relate to Professor Guroian's comment on the special feeling that one experiences entering Yerevan. It is such a special place, culture, people, and food. I don't know why more Americans don't visit. The Armenian Vatican is not to be missed.

John Wherry
South Orleans, MA (Listens to SOF Podcast)

Tears of Joy (April 6, 2007)
I have been thinking about planting a garden. This program has given me the needed nudge to set me to action. I could identify with Vigen Guroian's thoughts and connections between faith and his garden. So much of the Spirit surpasses words. I was reminded of a quote from freelance monotheist Karen Armstrong when she spoke of an Orthodox describing the Trinity, "When I think of the Three, I think of the One and my eyes fill will tears." Hearing Vigen Guroian's words about his garden filled my eyes with tears.

Davis Chung
Manassas, VA (Listens to SOF Podcast)

Clarification on Easter Calendar (April 6, 2007)
Your program mentioned the date of Easter. The major difference between the calculation of the date of Easter in East and West was not a major problem at the time of the separation of Constantinople and Rome in 1054. At that point, both East and West were using the Julian calendar and both had fixed the date of the vernal equinox on March 21st (as it had been at the Council of Nicaea in 325).

The Eastern and Western churches at Nicaea in 325 agreed to followed the calculations of the date of Easter done by the church of Alexandria, Egypt. That calculation puts Easter on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. After the split at Chalcedon in 451, the Eastern Coptic church of Egypt was no longer in communion with either Constantinople or Rome. Both churches developed similar calculations for Easter that were increasingly out of synch with the astronomical norms of Nicaea, as specialists in both East and West pointed out through the Middle Ages.

The Julian calendars are about 11 hours too long, which is not much from year to year in a single lifetime, but over centuries the slippage is considerable. For instance, in 2007 the astronomical vernal equinox according to the Julian calendar took place not on March 21, but on March 8. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII reformed the calendar, creating what we now call the Gregorian calendar. One of its key goals was to re-establish the Nicaean Easter, and it did so. So, ironically the calculation of Easter in the Western churches follows accurately the original Eastern calculations elaborated by the astronomers of late classical Egypt.

Steven Hawkes-Teeples
Rome, Italy (Listens to On Being OnDemand)