Connecting With Nature Unites Us With The Divine
A POWERFUL FRESH APPROACH TO SPIRITUALITY
From the new book, PRESENCE Recognizing the Divine in Your Everyday Life
by Mary G. Jackson
As I was writing PRESENCE Recognizing the Divine in Your Everyday Life, I came upon some ideas that seemed to form a foundation for my experience of the Divine. I called these philosophical and spiritual ideas, Concepts. Currently there are 22 concepts that have become the framework upon which PRESENCE is built.
Let’s explore the ninth concept, Connecting with nature unites us with the Divine. We often refer to the Divine as the Creator. The bible tells us God created the heavens and the Earth. Our relationship with nature – the earth we walk on, plants and animals, our air and atmosphere – is a favorite thing. Being in nature is another experience that brings Spirit close for many people. There are so many favorites in nature. Who doesn’t love the beach, the mountains, unspoiled wilderness, and connecting with plants and animals? It isn’t surprising that the beauty of flowers touches many with the miracle of growth and the magnificence of form and color.
I heard about a very brave person who, after a tragic loss, pursued her healing through gardening. The healing led her to teach gardening to others. I know someone who took a course in perennial design with her. Perennials come up every year, after planting them only once. The course became a significant favorite experience, and the results were very special. The student met nice people – a prediction her mother made – she learned what it meant to have roots and to know what hope is. If you look up the properties of roots and of perennials, it becomes apparent that this is a weighty symbol with deeper meaning than just the literal garden definitions.
Consider when you have had a loss, how fragile your roots have felt. Permanence, the key characteristic of perennials, seems sometimes all but lost when experiencing tragedy. The association with perennials became a favorite thing for both teacher and student.
The healing that started with the teacher was passed to the student. The student then took the design to a new home, planted a new perennial garden, continuing the healing. When we look at what makes perennials extraordinary, consider their qualities. From a small seed, they grow with beauty, rest in winter, and return not just next spring, but every spring. There isn’t any question about them being a loving favorite that shows the continuance of the Divine’s gifts to us.