I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately,

To front only the essential facts of life. And see if I

could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I

come to die, discover that I had not lived.

Henry David Thoreau

 

I hope you’ve had a renewing, at least somewhat restful summer, along with some time in nature.

The quote above is one I saw on a plaque on Walden Pond, near Concord, MA. The plaque stands near the tiny cabin Thoreau built for his two year stay on Walden Pond from 1845-1847.

As we all know, we love ourselves well by being in nature. Where we remember, “the essential facts of life, and learn what it has to teach,” as Thoreau says.

“Peaceful” is a word we often use for our time in nature. Yes, it is quiet. And the quiet is something we all seem to cherish more and more as we age. But for me, peacefulness of nature runs much deeper than the absence of noise.

It is found in this: everything is content to be what it is, and to allow everything around it to be what it is. There is nothing trying to be anything other than what it is. Nothing trying to be something else.

You can see a short tree bending to the left, right next to a tall, straight tree. Both allowing and accepting each other, and themselves, as they are.

As a follow up to Post 62, there is within nature, so much allowing and accepting of what is. When it rains, it rains. When the sun shines, it shines. When the wind blows, it blows.

The trees that have open space within them, allow the storm to be what it is, and pass through. Much like the open, uncluttered space Jesus teaches us to cultivate within ourselves, in the Aramaic Lord’s Prayer (Post 25). In the Aramaic, “hallowed be Your Name” becomes “clear space around Your Name (presence) within.” So it can be manifested within and pass through us, with less obstruction, and resistance.

The trees that are full, sometimes fall as a result of the storm, but they too continue to be part of the natural flow of nature. They then nurture the ground around them.

In nature, there is contentment with what is.

When I was a boy, I used to wake up in the morning and listen to the mourning doves outside my bedroom window. Now when I hear them, they are singing the exact, same five note song. And I think to myself, ‘being content with your song is a beautiful thing.’

When I go to the woods and live deliberately, I remember. I remember that the Source our souls emerged from, the Source we all are, allows. It allows us and everything to be what it is. It allows us and everything to become what it chooses to become.

Unless we have lived in this kind of grace, and given it to others, we’ve never truly lived. 

Everything in nature lives in vulnerability and interdependency.

Unless we live in this kind of vulnerability and interdependency, we’ve never truly lived.

Yes. Peaceful is a word we would often use to describe our experience in nature. Why? After sharing life with an ego that is constantly living from judgement and commentary. Constantly living from like/dislike, want/don’t want, should/shouldn’t be happening, and good/bad. After all of that, it feels wonderful to go to nature and take a break. It feels good to rest. To remember.

Remember what we are. In our essence.

Our nature.

You Are Love!

Pastor Tim Tengblad

timtengblad@comcast.net  As always, I welcome your comments, stories, and questions.

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