Iain Crichton Smith and Alastair McIntosh

My favorite Island photographer had a quote from Iain Crichton Smith on his web page. It expressed so easily what I have always thought.

And being of a curious nature and so loving research I looked up Mr. Smith and there in Wikipedia is a pdf document containing pages of Towards the Human; Selected essays published in 1986 and timeless. Here it is. http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/general/resources/1982-Iain-Crichton-Smith-Real-People-Real-Place.pdf The moment I saw the photo of Iain Crichton Smith I knew he was a kindred spirit and a lovely man. And the writing, well, one has to read it for them self. A photocopy will be made and read and saved on the bookshelf.

The person who made the pdf available, Alastair McIntosh, is another notable individual worthy of investigation. What he is all about, I could not hope to explain. Most signficant perhaps is his work in the community buy-out of the Isle of Eigg, now held in Trust. What struck me most of all about McIntosh more than his social and spiritual activism, and books and articles he has authored on human ecology, was the sharing of emotions in the form of letters to friends over the loss of his unborn son two years ago this January. I have not found Scottish people to be so open about such private matters and I was really surprised. And the photo of little Ossain, so beautiful and perfect. It was really touching and I instantly grieved for him and his wife. (I would very much enjoy meeting and sitting down with her to share stories about women's role in changing the world.) I considered sending an email, but I do not know the words. So, I send my thoughts through those mysterious waves of universal consciousness.

Speaking of grief, my Mother passed just over a month ago, and I miss her deeply. She would tell me I was her rock, when it was really the other way around.