Grounded is a work of meditation as it is nature writing. Through his search for a connection of modern humans with our ancestors, James Canton discovers the significance of place. Across the length and breadth of England, the author seeks out ancient points of interest. What did the stone circles mean? What was the significance of the carved Lion Man figure? How did our ancestors celebrate nature? In attempting to shed some light on these questions, Canton uplifts everyday nature to a thing of wonder.
In the book, the author also presents the religious inclinations of pre-Christians, the pagans, and even those that came before. He weaves this into the significance that nature and natural cycles held in their lives. And through his meditative prose, he seeks to enlighten the reader to the wealth that is around us for us to enjoy and cherish. Canton builds on the evocative prose we read in The Oak Papers, now extending that to features of the land, the history behind archaeological finds and the significance to early humans.
Reflecting on the travels he has undertaken in the past, Canton presents an image of the people who migrated to Britain. In connecting the experiences, he reflects on the common human condition of migration, identity and the need to belong. Even though a lot of places he visits are now abandoned, there is meaning to be found in their existence. And Canton argues that learning those meanings may help us understand ourselves better. Because fundamentally, through time, we are all still the same at the core.
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