Breathe with unconditional breath
the unconditioned air
Shun electric wire
Communicate slowly. Live
a three dimensional life
Stay away from screens
Stay away from anything
that obscures the place it is in
There are no un-sacred places
There are only sacred places and desecrated places

Wendell Berry – How to be a Poet (To remind myself) ii

The first two lines of this section just get me. What does it mean to breathe with unconditional breath? My first thought is to take things in without judgment, without preconceived ideas. Openly. But what about discernment? Not everything is safe out here in the world.

Unconditioned air. My first thought there is air not touched by the mechanical world. Or, thoughts not served by AI or some algorithm. From those screens that obscure the places they are in, right?

The commands of this poem are harsh, and could be judgmental, if one ignores the subtitle. Berry wrote this simply to remind himself. But in reminding himself, he woke up the poet that lives in all of us.