The Hummingbird’s Daughter – Book Review

Posted on April 3, 2010 by Josh

I just read a fantastic book, titled, yes, you guessed it – The Hummingbird’s Daughter.

What a wonderful book!

It’s the story of “Saint” Teresa (Teresita) Urrea (who was a real person, by the way). Her youth, upbringing, and something of her training in the arts of a Mexican curandera (or, healer).

The author, Luis Urrea, is the main character’s great-nephew, and spent 20 years researching the book – digging up old newspaper clippings and correspondences, and visiting the places described in its pages. He writes in a vivid, sensual style, that makes the characters come alive, and the pace move along like life – sometimes fast, sometimes slow, but always unavoidable…I found it hard to put the book down!

Not just because of the writing, however.

Teresita’s teacher is a curandera named Huila, who bears a strong resemblance to many of the teachers I’ve had in my life, and whose language is strikingly similar to the language of some of my teachers. One passage in particular is so similar to the way that Mick Dodge, The Barefoot Sensei, speaks about connecting with the earth, that Urrea could be quoting him directly! Here it is in part:

“In the earth,” Huila said. “Say it. I am in the earth.”
“I am in the earth.”
“And the earth is in me.”
“And the earth is in me.”
They breathed. They felt their lungs fill with sky, and they let the dark clouds inside them flow out. Then they connected to the earth.
“Lift the toes, and press with the balls of your feet.”
“I feel silly.”
“Part of being a medicine woman is feeling silly.”
Teresita stood before her, digging into the ground with her feet.
“Now, push into the ground with the inside of your foot, all the way to the heel. You’ve got prongs in your heels, like a pitchfork. Two on the inside, two on the outside. Plug in the two on the inside of your heel. Push into the earth. Then you have roots, child. Do you see that?”
“Roots. In my heels.”
“Yes. Plant them. Deep in the soil. Your roots.”

The book is full of little nuggets of wisdom like this. That, and the inspiring characters within, left me feeling a little more hope for humanity when I had finished.

I highly recommend this book!

Neoteny

Posted on August 19, 2009 by Josh

What the hell?! Is this a post about “The Matrix, Part 4?”

No…but that’d be cool!

“Neoteny” means “the retention of childish characteristics,” and it’s one of the hallmarks of human beings, according to several “pro’s.”

I was first exposed to the term by Frank Forencich at the first Exuberant Animal seminar last year. In EA terms, neoteny is the ability to continue to play even though you’ve reached “adulthood.”

I discussed the arbitrariness of the distinctions between “adult” and “child” in a previous post, but I’d like to revisit that post here.

What does it mean that we’re neotenous? First, it means that human animals remain undeveloped longer than almost all other animals. Ashley Montagu calls the process of development that continues after birth “exterogestation” (Montagu, pg. 91). Montagu wrote a book called “Growing Young,” all about the neoteny of humans, back in 1983.

We continue to mature practically for as long as we decide to do so. We can continue to learn new things until we die. We can continue to do things that children do, as long as we continue to do them, that is.

McDougall points this out in his book “Born to Run.” He says at one point that the reason the Tarahumara are such great runners is that no one ever told them to slow down, or that running was not “adult.” They start running as children, playing running games, and continue to develop their abilities deep into “old age.”

What strikes me most about the neoteny of the human race is that it is a recognized fact, yet conspicuously hidden from us. We can’t see it, because it’s right under our nose. I just saw a commercial for “Dave & Buster’s,” an adult playground, for fat lazy kids. But the commercial shows a couple of guys and their “fun” – miniature versions of themselves. They go to D&B’s to let their fun play.

Which leads me to one of the problems of being a neotenous creature, especially when all survival needs are satisfied beyond reason. That is, they’re capable of remaining “retarded” forever. I don’t mean “mentally disabled.” I mean, undeveloped. Child-men/-women rule the world, instead of man-/woman-children.

Seem like an arbitrary difference?

Born to Run

Posted on August 18, 2009 by Josh

First off, sorry it’s been a while. If you’ve been reading for a while, you know my grandmother passed away about a month ago. Between that and “life,” I’ve struggled to keep up recently.

However, “here I’m is,” as they say.

I just finished reading “Born to Run.” Christopher McDougall’s excellent book is a combination of a historical treatise on the history of endurance (especially ultra-endurance) running and the Tarahumara Indians, barefoot running overview, and personal experience with running.

As with most books on exercise, the science bits of this book left me very unconvinced. These scientists say that humans gained bigger brains because we ran. But wait, they said we gained bigger brains because we ate more meat. But wait, they said we should eat vegetarian diets if we’re going to be long-distance athletes…

Let’s skip the “science.”

The best part of the book is the narrative McDougall weaves, and the lessons he interjects, seemingly casually, throughout that narrative.

His accounts of the Tarahumara Indians, and other great runners, not only smiling, but laughing, as they ran 100 miles, really resonated with me. Also, the stories of the great distance runners who were great because of the extreme joy they found in running – not because of macronutrient balance, heart rate workouts, or anything else.

It’s a joyful book, and a testament to finding joy in what you do, and looking for things that bring you joy. I highly recommend this book to anyone out there who wants to be happier!