Bodenlos (DE)

[ˈboːdn̩loːs] 

Related terms: Bedrock, Bodenlosigkeit (German), Deterritorial, Earthbound, Foundation, Ghost Acreage, Ground, Heimat (German), Rootedness, Situatedness, Soil, Terrestrial

In a very basic understanding of commonality between human beings, the ground becomes an important metaphor: thecommon ground on which we stand describes a connection to a fundamental place that we all rely on. But what does it mean if this common ground is shaking – if we, slowly but surely, seem to be losing this ground? The German term bodenlos seems to grasp this phenomena in different ways. Boden-los (ground-less) literally describes the situation of having no solid structure beneath our feet. It simultaneously describes the dreadfulness of the abyss that inevitably lies beneath. We need to develop a new relation to the ground, to understand it as the thin skin of the Earth – the Critical Zone – that we inhabit, and at the same time affect, and are affected by.