A few years ago, while visiting some dear friends in beautiful British Columbia, I had the good fortune to accompany them on a wonderfully informative woods walk with the author [Bob Harrington] and his wife Linda. During this time I was impressed by their Thoreauvian existence and philosophy, which I have long aspired to emulate.
Shortly after my return home my friends sent me a copy of the Harringtons' book, 'The Soul Solution,' and I began to quote from it during conversations. After hearing several of these, one of my friends suggested it would be suitable for our Sunday school class, most of whose members are conservation minded professors in the state's Agricultural University. When the ordered copies of the book arrived, different members were assigned as leaders of our discussion of each chapter. In the weeks that followed our group found the warning messages of this modern-day prophet from the wilderness very informative and appropriate for the times and ways in which we live.
Dr. Gwen Kirtley Perkins
Author of 'Liana Tips' or more than most people want to know about vines, vine-like plants, and other ramblings
Frequent contributor to 'Louisiana Conservationist, 'Colfax Chronicle' and Baton Rouge 'Morning Advocate.'
Former editor of Louisiana Outdoor Writers' Association 'The Outsiders.'
Blog: Edda's Essays
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Review by Hugh T. Ector
Fruitvale, BC
January 2010
Regarding the Harringtons' book, The Soul Solution, I want to create an abstract that discusses the salient features of this well-written book, and, of course, I can't, properly. The issues described are very broad and inclusive, having worldwide implications, yet there is a fundamental message that, for me, captures the heart. It comes from a desire for simplicity, which the book also promotes. The following example is a rather astonishing excerpt from William James, which is included in the book:
I am done with great things and big things; great institutions and big success, and I am for those tiny, invisible, molecular moral forces that work from individual to individual, creeping through the crannies of the world like so many soft rootlets, or like the capillary oozing of water, yet which, if you give them time, will rend the hardest monuments of man's pride.
The Soul has been chosen as the defining metaphor for a theology of the earth. This theology is not about acquiring power (of the usual kind), but of relinquishing it; relinquishing power to experience an abundant and, yet, more sustainable life for the individual and for civilization - something, perhaps, orthodox religion and society have often failed to do in their quest for social influence through power. Bob and Linda (I know them very well, and will write more of this later) take a contrary tack, however - as expressed by the book - and believe in living the environmental message wholly, with their lives as examples. They have, to the best of their ability, given up on living the modern life with all its consumerism and rampant development. They have found time to simplify and get down to basics. I can attest to the fact of this sincerity of purpose. (In this regard I am reminded of Scott and Helen Nearing who wrote The Good Life.) I have been a witness to the Harrington's lifestyle, but more importantly, their book also expresses their brand of wilderness living and their belief in contemplative living and reflective prayer with unmistakable clarity.
For me, another one of the unique things about this book is that the age-old concern about the proper relationship to Nature and to human ethics has been around for, surprisingly, a long time. The world's greatest minds and thoughtful philosophers have recognized this ideal for as long or longer than man has been able to write. The quotations given by the author are many and varied, but the genesis of such concerns are ancient and seem to be from one basic set of questions, i.e., man's inability to answer the following: Where did man/woman come from? What is the meaning of human life (and, by projection all of life)? Is man so favored that his continued existence is assured? It is surprising that so many of these, sometimes forgotten, references have everything to do with modern survival. The message in The Soul Solution is ambitious; it, at least, attempts to discuss the more meaningful speculations. The modern characterization of conservation and environment is that they are strictly modern, political issues conjured by modern science. It is abundantly clear by Bob and Linda's arguments that this is fundamentally off the mark. These issues are moral (Soul) issues that man has confronted and must still confront if life on earth is to continue in its present form. The ancients, somehow, knew their importance.
A few years ago my wife and I rode with Linda and Bob to the acreage of clear-cut logging they acquired, which is described in their book. It was here they reseeded, by hand, this large area of land. They also cleaned the stream where Kokanee trout (really a land-locked sockeye salmon) had access to their centuries-old spawning areas. There were no fish in the upstream waterways due to the debris dams left by logging. Linda and Bob cleared this stream during weeks of hard work. Bob told me that was the last year for the returning fish. It had to be made available that year to synchronize with their annual rhythms and life cycles. Bob said, When I cut and removed the last log, the Kokanee almost immediately swam upstream between my spread legs to get to the spawning places. It was the proudest moment of my life. I confess, I didn't see a tear, but he did look away to another direction.
It is obvious that I highly recommend this book to all who have even the slightest interest in a long-term salvation for a reckless world. The fact that its birth is from the beautiful heart of British Columbia's Selkirk-mountain country - devoid of the crowds, the restlessness and even the research libraries of cities - should make it all the more meaningful.
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Review of Soul Solution
by Ken Douglas
January 2010
Hello Linda and Bob.
I wanted to thank you very much for your great book. When I first sat down to read it, I just couldn't get going, and ended up putting it away for a while. As they say, it’s pretty difficult to fill a vessel when the lid is still on.
Anyway---I picked it up after the new year and read the whole book in one day. I’ve since gone back and picked out parts and re-read them. I haven't been a model citizen all my life, have seen deaths and births, caused heart-ache and joy, but through it all the one thing that kept me sane was the ever presence of Mother Earth. When I was a boy I would sit for hours and listen to the heartbeat of the forest. I still do! When I am away from the bush I miss it with the same yearning I missed my mother. I just have to imagine the road, the creeks, and the breeze in the trees, and I'm instantly back there, with the smells of the dirt and sounds of the forest.
Thank you for writing a great book and doing your best all your life in bringing awareness to the unknowing. Hope to see you both this coming season somewhere, sometime.
Until then, take care.
Ken Douglas
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What reviewers have said about
THE SOUL SOLUTION
By Bob Harrington
with Linda Harrington
A DEEP LOOK AT SPIRITUALITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
If you are looking for some thought-provoking commentary on our world and its ways: then read The Soul Solution...Harrington isn't enthralled with our possessive lifestyle...Life itself is our greatest possession, he says...Harrington gives the reader searching for environmental solutions and sense, a deep-thinking ride. The book isn't for everyone, but those with a concern for our environment, and for mankind in general may well enjoy this offering of The Soul Solution.
Garry Allison
Lethbridge Herald
SOULFUL MEDITATIONS
The Soul Solution by British Columbia resident Robert Harrington...is an intensely personal and intimate view of ourselves, our world, our spirituality and philosophy of being. Walking a spiritual path with practical feet, Harrington works toward a conclusion that calls for a rededication to a theology of the earth. This journey includes the mundane - a study of economics and its impact on our view of material growth and success - and the mystical - a chapter on prayer and silence that begins with Victor Hugo's words, Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees. As you work through this book, you may find yourself at odds with some of Harrington's conclusions...Nevertheless, you will have been motivated to thoughtful reflection, to personal commitment to action, and you will come away with a renewed sense of hope for the world. What more can one ask from a single book?
Brian J. Murdoch
The Balanced Life Magazine
SOUL FOOD
Summer reading just got meaningful. Galena Bay resident, Robert Harrington has published The Soul Solution, a thoughtful blend of spiritual perception and practical philosophy. The Soul Solution challenges and inspires readers to meet the problems of our times...The Soul Solution aims to awaken a mystical force that will help readers live a life closer to the creation and insights of our soul.
Okanagan Life Magazine
AUTHOR PERCEIVES A SPIRITUAL DUTY TO EARTH
The Harringtons' philosophy is summed up thusly: Our essence or seed of being has been buried beneath a heap of materialism, and the renunciation of the superfluous is an essential step in the restoration of the soul. Bob discusses the idea that the earth may be imbued with soul, awareness, intelligence and benevolence; and examines our place in the midst of this miracle. The Soul Solution is not light summer reading...Its main message is clearly environmental, but...Harrington tries to imbue a greater purpose than mere survival of our species.
Showcase Capital News Ltd.
Kelowna, B.C.
FINDING THE SOLUTION
Harrington discusses the idea that the earth may be imbued with soul, awareness, intelligence and benevolence, and examines our place in the midst of this miracle. The book stresses the kinship of all life and the necessity of giving proper respect to the earth which supports it...Written in a flowing style, with generous quotes to support his statements, Harrington makes an impassioned plea for humanity: We are a combination of body and soul, not merely one or the other, and all of our actions are enhanced when they result from visionary co-operation of spirit and flesh. A balanced approach to life will always fully entail genuine respect for the material and the immaterial, for what is concrete and abstract, for things seen and unseen.
The Kootenay Express
Nelson, B.C.
I have just finished reading your book, The Soul Solution, with great admiration. I was fully impressed with the depth and width of your insight as much as with the solid documentation of great thinkers of past and present, and East and West. There is so much to meditate on and digest in your book! Your message is really of vital importance to the present world...I really should like, therefore, to congratulate you for your great achievement of having published this book and wish you to continue your noble and incalculably valuable work of reminding us of the basic truth of our life.
Doctor Shukei Yamaguchi
Author Metaphysics of Life
You Might Meet God, and Zen and Bergson
As always I marvel at your scholarship and knowledge of earlier thinkers that gives you the enviable ability to present the wisdom of the ages to your readers. The point is a good one that before modern technology was interposed between humans and Earth, everyone knew from direct experience the value of soil and water, forests and wild organisms. I found your book useful in ways both educational and inspirational, not least for the lyrical use of good language that the two of you command.
Dr. J. Stan Rowe
Professor Emeritus (Ecology)
University of Saskatchewan
Author Home Place
In this extraordinary book, Bob Harrington leads us on an absorbing intellectual and spiritual journey. This is an inspiring book of one man's personal testament of his relationship with life on earth. It offers hope for a future that otherwise appears excessively bleak.
Richard C. Bocking
Author Mighty River
Naturalists know the rare, always transitory, but ' if you're lucky - transcendent experience of wildness. The shucking off of stifling civilization for immersion in Earth's whole being ' even fleetingly ' is a moment of grace. John Muir's religious ecstasy in nature is echoed here in the mind and heart of Robert Harrington. Like Muir, he excoriates the savaging and plundering of nature, and the ethically bankrupt industrial and political ideology that anoints and blesses both. With erudition, insight, and deep compassion, he shows another way.
John A. Livingston
Author One Cosmic Instant and Rogue Primate |
