Philosopher Eckhart Tolle suggests that we study anything in nature to learn how to be. Look at a tree and see it respond slightly to its surroundings while at the same time remaining strong and immovable. Look at a river rock to see how it has gently yielded over time to the influence of water. Sit on a beach and watch the ebb and flow of the tide.
I’ve been watching a couple of robins make a nest and prepare for their babies. Under our deck is an out of the way spot where they feel protected. Little do they know that they are right outside my office window and that I have a front row seat to all their comings and goings. They are earnest, quiet, and focused. They’re never frantic but work steadily along.
There’s a great scene in the movie Phenomenon (John Travolta and Kyra Sedgwick) where (spoiler alert) he dies and she is grief stricken, crying outside on the porch. She looks up at the huge trees as they sway under the force of the wind and is immediately comforted by their way of being. Nature has a powerful grounding effect on us, is all around us and yet, so many people are disconnected from it.
I was once at a wilderness treatment camp working with an angry boy who came from a large metropolitan city. He had never seen a darkened night sky. The first night that we lay on a warm rock together and looked up at the millions of stars visible before us he was awe struck. In his words “its like I’m huge and small, all at the same time.” Nature is formidable and sensitive all at the same time and spending time in nature helps us to sense these qualities in ourselves.
Don’t make this difficult. You don’t need a week at Lake Powell…although that could be fabulous! You need to notice nature and spend time in it. Go out to your driveway and watch an ant. Plant a tomato seed in a bucket of dirt. Take off your shoes and walk barefoot in your yard. Take a 10 min walk with your face in the sunshine. Let the natural world show you how to be.
You are a child of the universe
No less than the trees and the stars;
You have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you
No doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Desiderata, by Max Erhmann
The wisdom has been there all along but you must find out for yourself. You are a child of the universe.
Picture Source: Besteducationpossible.
