An Introduction

Hello all,

My name is Abel Collins, and perhaps you know me as a writer, or as a community organizer for environmental causes, or even as a friend. However, I’d wager that mostly you don’t know me that well or at all, and I suppose that is one of the reasons that I have come to write in this space. I am thirty-one years old, born and raised in Rhode Island like the rest of my family stretching back to the first days of the colony. Rhode Island is a quirky place and I attribute much of my own peculiarity to its environment. It was founded with rebellious intent and it drew outcasts who sought freedom and equality. To this day, it is a State of hope with egalitarian aspirations. Even more formative than the social history of RI for me is its natural history. It is beautiful here. The emerald and sapphire of the ocean and bay; the gentle hills that roll down to those waves; the ponds that the rolling undulations of the land cup and spill through river or aquifer to meet the greater waters; the fertile fields outlined in granite; these are the beauties that have inspired me throughout my life.

Like the multitude of forms beauty has embodied in nature, the inspiration I take from them has taken many paths. I consider myself a philosopher, not in the sense that I have a sheaf of paper proclaiming me a doctor of knowledge, but in the original, Satyagraha, sense. I approach the world with a curiosity born of a love for truth. My thirst for truth, in knowledge and wisdom, and its exposition find expression in my poetry, and much of what I share in this blog will be my natural philosophic verse. I take time to dwell upon the transcendent perfection of the universe, and I allow the awareness I attain through that meditative process to inform my writing. My writing and thought return constantly to the plight of humankind, and I have dedicated my life to helping achieve a peaceful and sustainable future. As such, this blog will also devote a lot of discussion to understanding the social forces we have engineered to organize our society. In other words, I hope you are prepared to talk about politics and the economy and where they fit into the greater scope of nature.

Ideally, this blog will become a sounding board for evolutionary ideas. I would like to create a space for new ideas and new ways forward, and I will need you. Together with the spirit of Satyagraha, let’s make peace.

In Unity,

Abel

Ps- I’d like to thank Nick for putting this site together. I can already feel that tickle of excitement in my mind that always precedes the joy and productivity of new thought and good conversation.