Listing Part 1 Since I was very young, I’ve enjoyed making lists in my head, verbally, or on paper. For example, I had a list of all my stuffed animals. I could rattle off their names whenever I felt like it: Woodsy, Foresty, Teddy, Fishy, Plushpuppy, Ginger, Kitty (if there were more animals, I have since forgotten their names). I think that I might have already told you how in high school, I wrote a list of the books I owned.
My penchant for listing does seem at least somewhat acquisitive. My heaps of names, words, and books made me feel a little like Scrooge McDuck immersed in his pile of money (I read my share of comics, too). However, since my freshman year of college, I have also used my lists to organize my life. I would use a day planner to list what tasks I had to do and marked each one off when it was finished. That made me feel like I was accomplishing something, even if it just meant one more day until a visit home. Most importantly making lists has helped me remain engaged in my own life and the world around me. Below are some examples.
About six or seven years ago–before the pandemic–I signed up for the INaturalist app. This app (and the organization behind it) allow me to identify plants and animals and share photographs I take with amateur and professional scientists around my community and the world.
screenshot of my INaturalist list, March 15, 2025
I was so happy with INaturalist that I finally downloaded the Merlin Bird ID app from Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I used this app just two days ago to help me identify the bird calls of eight species I heard on my eleven minute walk home from the library: northern mockingbird, American crow, European starling, American robin, Carolina wren, northern cardinal, house sparrow, and blue jay. In less urban environments, I use Merlin to identify birds I can’t see in the trees and to verify guesses about the birds I do see. Below is my list from the afternoon of May 13, 2024, in North Bend State Park, West Virginia.
North Bend State Park, West Virginia, May 13, 2024
Following in the footsteps of my brother Dan, I have again started writing a list of the books I’ve read. Dan’s list (I have a copy of his list tucked away somewhere) featured academic literature. Mine is my usual hodgepodge, but I like it.
book list circa 2024-2025
Through the last 14 years, I have used my day book to note trips to gardens, museums, forests, parks, visits with family and friends, road trips, and the like. Since the beginning of this year, I have also used my day book to list each day’s activities more granularly. My daily list has changed. Now, along with lunch or dinner with friends and family or going to the Smithsonian or working at Hillside Park, I also list going to the store or to the the recycling bin in the next block or to the downstairs gym or that I made muffins. I am focusing on daily tasks. One task listed is, “breathe.” Not, breathe in and out 24 hours a day; I mean meditative breathing to keep myself moderately calm(ish). Our country is in turmoil. I need to stay calm enough to empathize with others and to remain active, helpful, and hopeful. Today I sent ten postcards to Donald J. Trump expressing my views on social, political, and governmental issues. I also responded to a text from one of my senators. Some days I contact people in Congress, join in town hall meetings, sign petitions, or donate tiny bits of money to the ACLU. These things are also on my list. I haven’t gone to a march yet, but I think I will soon. So my lists have changed a bit, but they still help me keep engaged in my own life and in that of my country.
Listing Part 2 A ship can be said to be listing when it tilts to the port (left) side or the starboard (right) side. Our ship of state is listing dangerously to the right. I do not want it to founder on the jagged rocks of racism, sexism, homophobia, greed, ignorance, or cruelty. I will to do my part.
Note: “Democracy” is on my long list of favorite Leonard Cohen songs. Please be well.
Close to the Ground: Living Inductively 