Photo Credit: Bertvthul/Pixabay
You know the moments.
Maybe you walk by the lake shore early, before dawn, and gaze, mesmerized, at mist wafting over the still water. Or maybe lay on your back at night far from city lights, a panoply of stars arching overhead, twinkling. Perhaps you stand, entranced, in the woods on a winter evening, the stillness ruffled only by the hiss of falling snow. Or your eyes sweep across a vast expanse of prairie under a high sun, the wind driving the tall grasses like waves on the sea, towering thunderheads in the distance. It could be a stroll by a clear, fast-running stream, the cascading water’s music playing with your ears.
In such moments, you are more than a mere observer. You enter into relationship. The natural world reaches out and takes hold of your senses. The nattering voice in one’s head goes silent. Time evaporates. The boundary between self and the rest of the world softens or outright disappears. No past. No future. Just a wondrous now.
The term used by eco-therapists is, “You have been found.” But, found by what?
These gifted moments of transcendence, of awe and confluence with nature, are the high mass for those touched by the creator through its creation. It is baptismal immersion in the life force in its myriad manifestations. It becomes a dialogue with the divine, a very personal connection with what is greater than one’s self.
“I’ve always regarded nature as the clothing of God,” is how composer Alan Hovhaness put it. A sentiment echoed by Robert Kennedy Jr., who stated, “Wilderness is the undiluted expression of the Creator.”
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
Many indigenous people refer to the Earth, our local version of nature, as “our first Mother.” And, from a scientific standpoint, that is quite literally the case. The stuff of our bodies comes from the Earth, which itself came from stardust. We are all, ultimately, offspring of the stars.
But, our bond with the Earth is more than an empirical condition. It goes beyond biology, geology, chemistry and all the other physical processes that make our material world tick. And that beyond is spiritual.
Many of us long for transcendent experiences. We hope and sometimes work to create interludes when we lose ourselves and rest in the embrace of something far greater, more whole and complete. Nature is a manifestation of that far greater something, a something that birthed us into existence. Whether an atheist or devoutly religious, one should hold the Earth as sacred. It is, in its own right, a living, sentient being, one far older, wiser and finished than our upstart species.
So, when one goes to the natural world, it can become a source of that transcendence. In the realm of psychology, it’s simply called “the experience of awe and wonder.” Research shows this state of being occurs most often when in relationship with nature, with our existential home.
Sure, there are myriad reasons to seek out the natural world to enhance personal well-being. Through numerous studies, eco-psychologists have established the impressive mental benefits of spending more time, mindfully, in nature. Stress eases, depression lifts, anxiety smooths out, hurry sickness ebbs, perspective widens and the nattering monkey mind induced by technology throttles back.
So, being in nature is one thing, and a good one. However, being with nature transports the self beyond the mental and emotional, and into the spiritual. This “being with” feeling may prove difficult to intentionally create. Instead, one learns to allow it to happen, so to speak. Placing one’s self in a natural setting, awakening the senses and remaining mentally present and open to whatever may occur seems the best path.
We don’t need to find the transcendent in nature. We need to be found by it.
