It’s years since I noted this quote and it has recently made its way to the front of the nuannaarpoq pipeline. But only reading it again now do I see how much it resonates with the urgencies of rebalancing our relationship with the natural world around us, and with each other.

The dignity we seek is one beyond that articulated by Enlightenment philosophers. A more radical Enlightenment is necessary, in which dignity is understood as an innate quality, not as something tendered by someone outside.  And that common dignity must include the land and its plants and creatures.

See also our quote-packed celebration of this thoughtful book.

Source: Barry Lopez, Arctic Dreams (London: Picador, 1987), p. 405

Photo credit: Claudio Testa at unsplash