Wisdom for Artists from Scientist Rachel Carson
by Thea Fiore-Bloom, Ph.D.
Rachel Carson was a marine biologist who penned wondrous words at a small, wooden, built-in writing desk overlooking a remote piece of the rocky coast of Maine.
What Carson created at that humble desk (and the one in her historic home in Maryland) literally changed the world.
Despite writing with the burden of aggressive cancer, Carson managed to complete and promote Silent Spring in the nick of time.
She finished it before she herself was whisked off this watery planet in 1964.
Silent Spring ignited the environmental movement and is considered Carson’s most important work.
But Carson’s obscure and arguably “least important” work is my personal favorite.
It was published posthumously in 1965.
The Sense of Wonder is a thin volume inspired by and dedicated to Carson’s youngest nature exploring buddy; her orphaned grand-nephew Roger (whom she was fostering .)
Before she got ill Carson and young Roger spent many moonlit nights exploring wonders together outside her Maine cottage.
If you are struggling today: feeling overwhelmed in the midst of our current global uncertainty or lacking the confidence to achieve a dream or just make it through work — I hope this passage about fairy godmothers from Carson’s book on wonder will be a little lamp at the end of your tunnel.
Passage from The Sense of Wonder by Rachel Carson
“A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement.
It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring is dimmed and lost before we reach adulthood.
If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of children I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things that are artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength.”
Lesson for Artists and Writers
Let Rachel Carson’s wish wash over you.
Let it reconnect you to your source of strength and renew your wonder.
Wonder is a kind of superpower of artists and scientists.
Unlike most adults, we creatives still have full access to wonder because we refused to officially “grow up.”
At times we face some ridicule and judgment for our “childlike” ways but the upside is this; wonder is always just beneath our surface, waiting for us to call on it and access its restorative magic.
A Wish, Courtesy of Rachel Carson
My wish for you today is that you be able to remember to tap into and cloak yourself in “a sense of wonder so indestructible that no sterility, negativity, or disenchantment can get through.”
Keep believing in beauty.
Look at all it’s given you already in your creative life.
Try to get outside for five minutes today to clear your cache and restart the wonder machine within you.
A city park tree or even a sidewalk elm can be a great gift when we need to just hang on.
Because as Carson wisely said:
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”
— Rachel Carson (1907-1964)
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Here’s a beautifully written essay on “Silver Ledges,” Carson’s windswept, magical seaside cottage in Southport Maine.
What do you think about Rachel Carson?
Has she been an inspiration or hero to you too?
Let me know in the comments please, I would love to hear.
Thanks for reading and caring about Carson’s important work.
If you liked this post you might like to read one of these other Charmed Studio offerings:
- WWGD: What Would Georgia Do? How To Let O’Keeffe Lift Your Spirits
“Night and Day,” by artist and Charmed Studio subscriber Margaret Dobbins. Acrylic on canvas, 29″ x 29″. - Van Gogh Probably Didn’t Kill Himself: Why Most People Still Think He Did and How The Real Story Affirms Artists
- Ray Bradbury: What He Kept in His Magic Cabinet, How Objects Help Artists, and Why Clutter Clearing is Overrated
- Salvador Dalí: 6 Outrageous Facts and Tips For Artists & Writers
- Why Artists Need Matisse, Windows & Daydreaming
- Beatrice Wood: What No One Tells You About Her, Why She Isn’t Famous & How She Can Make Your Art Life Blossom
- Beatrix Potter: What She Did With Mushrooms, Her Relationship With Her Postman and 5 Other Things You Don’t Know About Her That Can Make Your Art Life Bloom
- Diane Arbus: 4 Surprising Things Arbus Knew That Can Help You Take Your Art from Okay – to Incredible
- Frida Kahlo for Artists and Writers: 7 Tips from the Life of a Mexican Maverick
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2 minute Video version of this Rachel Carson article from The Charmed Studio Youtube Channel
Rachel Carson is indeed a wonderful fairy godmother figure. If there has been a person that truly understood the concept of the Soul of the World, she is it. In addition, she is a super whistle-blower. Silent Spring was a warning to the world of the terrible damages being done by pesticides, and her testimony in congress at the time her book came out was eerily similar to the testimony just given last year by Evanovich and Vindemin. It was her against the chemical and agricultural giants, and she won. Silent Spring was a huge achievement, meticulously researched. By coincidence, I just read two wonderful biographies of Carson a couple of months ago, The authors are Linda Lear and William Souder. Her story is a wonderful inspiration to all aspiring writers, no matter what field they are in.
What an astute comparison. I never thought of Carson’s testimony in the light of the recent testimony of Evanovich and Vindemin. That would be a good letter you could write to the editor for a NY Times op-ed.
I was wondering if you could tell me more about the differences you saw between the Lear of Souder bios? I loved Lear’s bio of Beatrix Potter but haven’t read either of those biographies of Carson yet and want to pick one..
Thanks Steve.
Both books are long, but I couldn’t put either one down. The Linda Lear book was written with great affection for Rachel and gives a detailed biography of her life, including her early years when she was a college student, unsure of what she wanted to do with her life, at a time when careers for women were highly limited. Along the way, she by sheer luck met the right person/mentor at the right time, and her skills as a writer and as a biologist gradually came into bloom. Self-doubt was always there, and it was never easy for her to find publishers, even with her later books.
I recommend reading both books, starting with Linda Lear’s. The William Souder book throws in fascinating details that add surprising dimensions to her story. He goes into great detail about the writers that gave her models to follow when she was trying to figure out how to put how to put her very special viewpoint on the written page. Their books were as inspiring for her as her books are for us. Souder also has a long chapter about the hydrogen bomb tests in the Pacific that were going on in the 1950s. The radioactive fallout from these bombs was far greater than expected and caused serious, long-term environmental damage. As a result, attitudes towards the “miracles” science had brought to mankind began to shift. Results from those tests triggered Rachel to focus on the long-term adverse effects of using pesticides. She had a “day” job in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, so she was already involved in the technical research being done during those years. As a government employee, she had to deal with constant opposition from the Agriculture Department to get policies adopted that would protect fish and wildlife. The Agriculture Department usually won.
But then Rachel wrote her book. William Shawn of The New Yorker was a big fan of hers, and by featuring her work in the magazine, she got the boost she needed to build her fan base.
Every book is a miracle, not just because the books themselves are outstanding, but also because she was able to write them at all and because she was able to get them published at all. Her whole life was a Herculean struggle.
Wonderful summation Steve. Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know. I will get both and report back.
Thea, thank you for the lovely article .It’s the perfect reminder to believe in the magic surrounding us. I read Rachel Carson’s book in the early 70’s . She inspired me to care about our environment. I will be sure to read the “Sense of Wonder”. I am so pleased that one of our sons and his wife are instilling that in their young children. Remember the powerful feeling evoked by stepping into a forest and experiencing scattered light falling through the canopies of trees? (Called Komorebi by the Japanese). That moment generates such a feeling of awe and it’s exactly how I feel about her writings.
Kimorebi. Thank you for teaching me a wonderful new word Sylvia! I want to think on that word. And I totally agree with your astute observation that her writings produce that speckled-light-through-the-leaves-feeling in her readers. I was noticing yesterday as I read her work aloud for the podcast that Carson is one of those rare writers who masterfully uses long, long sentences. I was thinking they add this hypnotic cadence to her work;taking you deeper and deeper into the journey with her as if you are spiraling down a well in Alice and Wonderland or some other children’s book adventure. She grips your child self. Yet at the same time she manages to teach you all these incredible things about the sea or makes you think about philosophy… and that all stimulates a more mature section of one’s brain. And you emerge from even a few pages of her books, feeling as if you have been in another place. Thanks as always for commenting, appreciate you.
Thea, your wondrous words describing Carson’s writings invoked intense feelings of experiencing another realm and definitely stimulated my brain LOL
LOL. 🙂 Thanks.
I started crying halfway through this post. Not because I felt sad, but because it made me remember that there is still beauty out there. It was a sense of relief. I realize that I have become way too immersed in this horrible political circus and I think it might be partially to blame for the sudden resurgence of daily panic attacks. It’s become so bad that I have felt uncomfortable leaving the house, let alone go somewhere to be in nature. I have to take some steps back and do something to put it all in perspective.
I have not felt inspired to create anything new and have started having nightmares. I had a dream the other night where my daughter, Ella, and I ran into Barrack Obama on the street. I told him he was still my president and that I missed him. He put his arms around Ella and I while we walked alongside him. He said, “Believe me, I am far from gone.” In the dream, I started sobbing uncontrollably to the point where I woke up gasping for air. I wake up startled a lot lately. Or I have complete insomnia and can’t fall asleep at all, often getting out of bed without sleep to fix breakfast (at around 6:00 a.m.). Then I go to sleep for a couple hours and get up and try to function. I know that I am suffering from constant worry. I have never had such politically-motivated issues before.
I really need to work at fixing this.
There is still beauty out there I swear! One of my favorite movies is The Thin Red Line. Its a war film. Not my usual favorite genre. But I love it because Malik depicts the intense, sublime unfolding of the natural world as keeping on, despite the horror of the violence the soldiers on both sides of the Vietnam war are enduring.
Ours is such a strange civilization/world rife with beauty and love and miracles alongside cruelty and the seeming indifference of fate. Hang on Shawn! We can and will do something to stay awake and awaken others before this is done. But in order to have focus we need to keep wonder and hope and art and love alive within. And as my friend John said in the comforting comment below, we need to keep looking for beauty, keep asking why and keep listening an being interested in the answers we receive to that question.
PS Your dream was so moving. Why not paint it??
Beautiful piece! Two parts that resonate for me: One being the Silent Spring concept that she brought into consciousness. In my remote parts, summer nights are a festival outside my windows. I have no idea what is going on out there in Nature, but there is certainly a lot of activity. LOL. Probably the mating rituals of all the critters. Come Fall and into Winter, everything goes quiet, or at least relatively so. When Spring comes, the Concerto of Nature returns.
Which brings me to my second point. The constant WHY question my 5-year old daughter has. WHY is there so much noise out there? WHY? Which leads into so many potential roads of inquiry.
If I loose that WHY question, my sense of wonder with the world starts to fade as I fake myself into believing I know everything or have figured it all out, or that it’s all hopeless. But the WHY question brings me back. To wonder. To beauty. To the harmony that does exist all around us.
At the current time, certain PTB are determined to divide. Make people believe the ugly is beautiful. That chaos is so the new order. To overturn a civilization and structure of morality and goodness that has been time tested for thousands of years. One must ask the WHY question even in the face of this evil. As this is the only way to get to the root of the illness of our time.
Wonder and WHY and Beauty and Harmony. They are all there for us to take in and heal and grow with. Never loose them.
Amazing comment John, balm for the soul. I will have to think on all you said and get back to you on this. Thanks so much for taking the time to write that. It helps.
I remember a lecture I heard on Buddhist psychology where the speaker was saying not to be afraid to utter these 3 words: I DON”T KNOW. They said it was a timeless and important zen answer. We don’t need to pretend to know everything. Lifelong curiosity (like Carson had) is more productive and soul-sustaining over a lifetime, than the momentary ego boost of having the right answer. Would you agree?
I think I would have loved that lecture.
Whenever my daughter is doing the `drill down’ with her `why’ quest, she is only satisfied when she gets the answer she intuits is correct OR I say I don’t know. It’s amazing to witness.
So beautiful, Thea. I always enjoy your posts and save them to read when I have a quiet moment. Thankyou for opening my eyes to Rachel Carson. I felt like I was there in Maine too, with her. I even fantasize about staying in that cottage. Wonder is one of the blessings of humanity. Of being human. I hope I never lose my curiosity and sense of wonder. Thankyou for acknowledging that it is so hard to retain it in this current world.
Thanks for your kind words, a balm to the heart. I actually fantasized about staying in the cottage too, it would be a pilgrimage and retreat wrapped into one. Here is how you can rent it. They make no mention in this ad of it being her former summer home. It’s on the down low I suppose, perhaps out of respect or maybe just low drama people. I will post a picture of her writing desk soon if I can get permission.
That was just lovely, Thea, as I find all of your posts. It reminded me of a conversation my grandson and I had a year ago or so. There are times I find it difficult to put into words some of my beliefs so the younger generation can understand what the heck I want to convey. I remember saying that I believed “we” were all interconnected, every living thing on this beautiful planet. He tilted his head to one side, squinted and said, “really”. He still refers to that conversation on occasion. He is a deep thinker and I enjoy giving him things to ponder.
What a great story! Thank you for taking the time to write and tell me. I just spent the day with my young teen niece today and was feeling the same. I honor her and our conversations so much that I weigh my words carefully out of respect for her and the topics themselves. It’s great to have to kind of check yourself before you speak and go deeper, reconfigure, ponder and then let out some words, right? Kids can help you figure out what your personal philosophy or religious philosophy actually is, on the deepest level. You remind me of Carson. Carson spoke a lot in the book about how she strove not to teach TO her nephew Roger but rather she tried to explore WITH her nephew and answer any questions he asked. I bet your grandsons are just crazy about you.
We have our own little “mutual admiration society” going on here. Are you old enough to remember that song? 😉
Whoo-hoo, what the heck it’s free. Let’s admire away. 🙂 No, I’ve never heard of that song, who is it by?
My grandparents had an old Victrola that was taller than my sister and me. If we were good she would play us a song. We got to listen on occassion. 🙂 I was uncertain of the artist’s name until I heard her voice on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUfLHJg-CY0&list=RDbUfLHJg-CY0&start_radio=1
The Sense of Wonder is waiting on my Kindle. Thank you for sharing.
Wonderful, Thea – thanks for drawing my attention to Carson’s “The Sense of Wonder.” I am invariably comforted by wandering among the trees and shrubs, along the paths made by deer through the ravines nearby. To look up into the marvelous, intricate matrix of branches, to be delighted by the patterns in the leaves, and watch the many birds whirl and dash among them, is to be not only comforted, but – as Carson wisely observes – strengthened in ways I did not know. Some of the trees are more than 150 years old, and I like knowing they were here long before me, and will be here long after (and their offspring will carry on much farther, of course). Such a knowing gives me perspective, reminds me that life is not about me, but that I am about Life. It reminds me to do my work, to act out my responsibilities with joy, and determination, to play, create, and (perhaps above all) be grateful.
When will you believe me that you are a wonderful writer??? Thanks so much for taking the time to leave this jewel of a comment, I was right in that ravine for a minute as I read your words. What a nice mental holiday. Tree matrixes are some sort of sacred geometry, they are like perfect mandalas of chaos yet bring a ton of peace into your nervous stream if you take a minute to look up into them, especially when you lay on the ground and do so!
I wanted to ask you if you have a favorite writer who lived or wrote about time outside?
Thank you so much for this well thought out post about Rachel Carson. I am especially interested to learn she authored 10 books, incl. your favorite: The Sense of Wonder. I will definitely look into reading it. Also, I will share this post with a friend who is just as you say “overwhelmed with her life” right now.
Kathy you are kind to write and tell me you enjoyed the piece and passed it on. I wanted to ask you about your experience of first reading Silent Spring? Where were you at the time and how did it make you feel?