I
was on the walking trail the other morning and happened to notice the white
fluffy clouds in a clear blue sky above me.
It’s
hard to walk and look straight up at the same time. At least it is for me. I
had to stop for a minute and take it all in.
The
smallness in society today, the petty wrangling over politics, the little daily
insults from the President and politicians on both sides, the ridiculous media
madness, the silly antics of drivers on the freeway furious because someone
didn’t let them into their lane, the rude actions of store clerks and
customers, seem all-consuming these days.
And
then, there is the sky. So vast. So mysterious. What’s up there besides
airplanes and clouds?
What
might happen if we were to often roam the dimensions of nature? To get out of
our narrow confines and seek wisdom in the sky, the ocean, the blooming flowers, and healthy plants, in the broad wide existence of our expansive environment.
We
might grow in maturity, in insight, in patience, in joy and love.
Writer
and teacher, Angie Weiland-Crosby, has observed, “Deep in the forest I stroll
to hear the wisdom of my soul.” And President Radhakrishnan of India has said,
“The oldest wisdom of the world tells us we can consciously unite with the
divine while in this body; for this, we are really born. If we miss our
destiny, Nature is not in a hurry; she will catch us up someday, and compel us
to fulfill her secret purpose.”
These
are both beautiful thoughts. Nature is the open book of our existence, both
physical nature and our own spiritual nature. And when we pursue it, we find a
certain degree of the rare meaning of our journey here.
In
the Shinto religion beliefs are centered in seeing nature and the world in all
of its beauty. Followers seek a sensitivity to all of life. They value nature,
harmony, and balance within each person.
In
ancient times, Shinto shrines were not buildings or temples, but rather
mountains, waterfalls, rocks, cliffs, trees, and forests. These were places to
experience the Divine, to understand the larger existence of mystery within and
around us.
Christianity
often fails to see the value in nature, in the environment, in the flourishing
of life in trees and plants, in lakes and oceans, in mountain ranges and clear
streams, in wandering trails and colorful gardens. The obsession with an afterlife
too many times keeps us from believing in the divine mystery of nature now, its
healing powers and dramatic forces, its lessons for humanity, its sheer
spectacular elegance, fascination, and allurement.
A
friend of mine, a sort of lapsed Catholic who doesn’t consider himself
religious, walked Spain’s Camino de Santiago Trail two years in a row. When he returned
each time, he had these amazing pictures of the Trail, and of some of the
lovely little villages along the way where he met and dined with locals and
other travelers on the Trail. He was especially fascinated with the beautiful
churches and chapels, common and simple structures but built with great detail
and care. The trip, I think, was a deeply spiritual experience for him as well
as a test of his endurance.
The
world is a vast, glorious place. There are so many treasures out beyond our
daily struggle with material possessions, political arguments, and small-minded
beliefs. We are simply blind to the boundless, spacious world we dwell in with
its abundance of riches far beyond our paltry collection of stuff, and our
prized assets.
The
ancient mystics wrote, “Who knows the flower best—the one who reads about it in
a book, or the one who finds it wild on the mountainside?”
Take
a minute to look up and follow the movement of the clouds. You most likely will
realize how small we humans are and how immense our world really is. One much
larger than the tiny irritations and minor complications of our daily lives.
©
2019 Timothy Moody
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