For Pete's sake: Seeger's spirituality

Seeger in 2007   (Photo by Dxede5x)  

Pete Seeger, who was a member of a Unitarian Universalist church, used to describe himself as an atheist.  That was before he came to the realization that "God is everything."

Wikipedia explains that Seeger had felt most spiritual when he was out in the woods.  He felt "part of nature" and had stated:  Whenever I open my eyes I'm looking at God.  Whenever I'm listening to something I'm listening to God.

It is therefore no wonder that Seeger and his wife Toshi had made the Hudson highlands their home.  They purchased land there in 1949, and lived in a log cabin which they had built themselves.

They then made it their mission to restore the Hudson River region to some of its pristine glory.  To this end, Seeger cofounded "the environmental organization Hudson River Sloop Clearwater."  The Clearwater itself

is a "106-foot-long sailboat" on which environmental education is conducted.  Judging from the title of co-composer Seeger's song God's Counting on Me, God's Counting on You, it seems that Seeger regarded this environmental work as sacred.

Perhaps Seeger was also somewhat hardwired for religion.  He called his Yankee-Protestant family "enormously Christian, in the Puritan, Calvinist New England tradition."  Nevertheless, he had also felt that there was a lot to apologize for.  His autobiography states:  …I guess anyone who calls himself a Christian should be prepared to apologize for the Inquisition, the burning of heretics by Protestants, the slaughter of Jews and Muslims by Crusaders...     

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Seeger

Copyright January 30, 2014 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved