“Were I called upon to define, very briefly, the term art, I should call it the reproduction of what the senses perceive in nature through the veil of the mist.”
-Edgar Allan Poe
“The joy of looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift.”
-Albert Einstein
Tag Archives: nature
Hear the Earth Sing
I love these words from other languages that can’t be translated in a single word to English. They each evoke a deep feeling and connection – not a mental abstract. They speak of our intimate and interrelated chemistry with Nature… our partnership, rapport and love.
I found these words on a blog called “Mother Tongues” and the Tenalach Irish word mentioned on a Facebook page called “Discover the Forest”.
Tenalach (Irish): used to describe a relationship one has with the land, air and water, a deep connection that allows one to literally hear the Earth sing.
Komorebi (Japanese): The scattered, dappled light effect when sunlight shines through tree leaves.
Gökotta (Swedish): To wake up early in the morning with the purpose of going outside to hear the first birds of spring sing.
Aloha aina (Hawaiian): This phrase means “love of the land.” Hawaiians are the land, in the sense that the land provides food, water, clothing, and shelter. Showing care for the land, while visiting, is a wonderful way to show care and respect to the people of Hawaii.
Dadirri (Aboriginal Australian): An ancient word that combines contemplation, deep inner listening, and quiet still awareness of creation and the Creator, Dadirri is like a crystal clear water hole that calls us to be replenished and revitalized. To embody Dadirri, is to be at peace with yourself, with others, in nature, and with the Creator. Be patient with yourself, with your neighbor, and wait upon the seasons. Become aware of the sacredness that surrounds you. Hear creation breathe and follow her rhythm.
The Middle of Nowhere
“I’d rather wake up in the middle of nowhere than anywhere else on earth.”
– Steve McQueen
I sort of live in the middle of no-where… at least many people may think so. And I’ve thought a lot about that.
But it’s always someone’s somewhere isn’t it? These woods with the tall trees are home to fox, elk, ravens, bear, coyote, wolf, and myriad wild 
flowers. Life comes and goes in its natural cycle. The days too are in sweet rhythm… the whole of this living system together is complete and vibrant and I feel that way amongst this radiant Life.
Living in the middle of nowhere to me is much like the concept that the Native Americans and this land were “discovered” by Christopher Columbus. As if they didn’t exist until they were told who they were by the newcomers. 
Yes, nowhere is always somebody’s somewhere. Somewhere special and unique and valued.
This particular No Where is my greatest gift.
Its quiet and wholeness help me find the essence of who I am.
“No matter how chaotic it is, wildflowers will still spring up in the middle of nowhere.”
-Sheryl Crow
“You will find poetry nowhere unless you bring some of it with you.”
– Joseph Joubert
Zion National Park – A Gallery of Photos
A Sanctuary of Peace and Refuge
Zion. The word evokes a place of sanctuary – of peace and refuge. The majestic red rocks of Zion National Park are in a state of continual change. The feeling of ancient wisdom, calm, peace, and movement – of evolving – are so palpable here. A deep knowing energy pervades the air, the earth, the rocks.
“Has joy any survival value in the operations of evolution?
I suspect that it does…”
-Edward Abbey
Large Cathedrals and Small Chapels
Here immersed in these extravagant wonders formed over millennia, are cathedrals of stone so immense they cover an expanse as far as the eye can see. Within these grand cathedrals, in every nook, are small chapels of amazement. Every glance a testament, a long look a revelation. An acknowledgement.
“A weird, lovely, fantastic object out of nature like Delicate Arch has the curious ability to remind us—like rock and sunlight and wind and wilderness—that out there is a different world, older and greater and deeper by far than ours, a world which surrounds and sustains the little world of men as sea and sky surround and sustain a ship. The shock of the real. For a little while we are again able to see, as the child sees, a world of marvels. For a few moments we discover that nothing can be taken for granted, for if this ring of stone is marvelous then all which shaped it is marvelous, and our journey here on earth, able to see and touch and hear in the midst of tangible and mysterious things-in-themselves, is the most strange and daring of all adventures.”
-Edward Abbey
Stone Poetry
The ranger at the entrance station for Bryce National Park provides a brochure that explains the science behind the majestic spires, cathedrals, layers of colors, sculptures… but the facts can’t prepare you for the wonder of it all. The scale, the quiet, the sacred feeling that pervades – all are immense. Travelers talk in whispers. We glance at each other with a sort of shrug that says, “How can we take in all this?” It is sacred, it is all encompassing, it is peace.
“If a man knew enough he could write a whole book about the juniper tree. Not juniper trees in general but that one particular juniper tree that grows from a ledge of naked sandstone near the old entrance to Arches National Monument.”
-Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire, A Season in the Wilderness
Nature’s Art – A Gallery of Photos
“What is art but a way of seeing?”
-Saul Bellow
“What I see in Nature is a magnificent structure that we can comprehend only very imperfectly, and that must fill a thinking person with a feeling of humility. This is a genuinely religious feeling that has nothing to do with mysticism.”
-Albert Einstein
Seeing the Spring Come In
“One attraction in coming to the woods to live was that I should have leisure and opportunity to see the Spring come in.”
-Henry David Thoreau
“Sit quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself.”
-Zen Saying
“The force of Spring – mysterious, fecund, powerful beyond measure.”
-Michael Garofalo
Walking Meditation
Walking, rambling, wandering in nature, creates an absorbing meditative state. Interconnections are felt as a natural presence and awareness is sharp but relaxed and calm.
Cultivating a mindful state too while walking is restful and peaceful. A day begun in this way sets the energy for all that will follow.
In this calm, meditative state there is also stimulating brain benefits.
Your brain after a walk!
“Wildmind” provides resources for walking meditation. Learn the “how to do it” and the “whys” of walking meditation’s benefits by checking out the link below:
http://www.wildmind.org/walking/why
“In beauty may I walk.
All day long may I walk.
Through the returning seasons may I walk.Beautifully will I possess again.
Beautifully birds . . .
Beautifully joyful birdsOn the trail marked with pollen may I walk.
With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk.
With dew about my feet may I walk.With beauty may I walk.
With beauty before me, may I walk.
With beauty behind me, may I walk.
With beauty above me, may I walk.
With beauty below me, may I walk.
With beauty all around me, may I walk.In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk.It is finished in beauty.
It is finished in beauty.”A Navajo Indian Prayer of the Second Day of the Night Chant (anonymous)
May you walk in beauty and calm attention today, breathing sweetness and wonder with every step.