As the election comes near the soul is pressed with a deep yearning for a renewed society, a society with an authentic expression. This we call regional character and among many things we desire this is a great one. Its realization dissolves massification giving way to refined and rich local characters that come together in a rich national character.
We admire France, Spain, Italy, and the richness of their local regions, and this impulse is a sign of vitality, but it is not yet health recovered. A soul set upon recovering must seek to admire and imitate. In particular, he must take on the disposition of the men who gave these regions their character.
In his journey to recovering their disposition, this soul will see that time is too short to follow the fast fashions if he is to establish some stability of character in the world. He would say, "These shadows aren't worth chasing. Many have spent careers, lifetimes doing so, and have gained fame in the world, but their home, their fatherland they have not honored. The evidence, their home has no regional character."
Medieval man, or the normal man, the man of good health, had a deep devotion to his soil. So much so that he toiled in it to bring forth fruits in a unique manner. He sought to understand how God was reflected in it through its various symbols, and he celebrated His qualities by imbuing them into his works. Furthermore, it was not only nature he paid homage to, but his neighbor as well whom he loved and desired to stay ever near. So he merged what he considered the best qualities of his neighbor and region into his workpieces.
Perhaps, the small farmer in his recipes merges the certain kind of joy his wife expresses and his choice of herbs, the local architect chooses local stone because of the strong character of the families, and the artist makes the hues of the local seasons and his neighbors dress the basis of his palette, we could meditate upon many more examples. And it's Charity and innocence of soul lead men to desire this kind of service. Without them, there is massification, mass production, in short, no regional character.
If Medieval Man had chosen the international stage to spend his life's work, he would have preferred to form his taste upon fast fashions that attain the attention of the masses by the false light of novelty and which only give the illusion of authentic expression. The result would have been a mind unsettled that would only with difficulty perceive the importance of regionalism, easily perceived by his venerable predecessors.
Still, his soul, like many souls, modernized and divorced from the past, and truly meaningful work, would've glanced back at the tranquil shores of the past, where he senses freedom. So desiring to return, he would've returned to that venerable disposition we have been sketching. Namely, the disposition desirous of cultivating regional character, pleasing neighbor and God, staying home and understanding its riches, and dying there humbly without national or international renown, in which he will find rest, order, true authentic expression.
May the Angels raise armies of local artists, craftsmen, small farmers, and so on, to consume the morose modern world. Holy Angels pray for us!
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