This week I’ve been reading a book called Rewild Yourself: 23 Spellbinding Ways to Make Nature More Visible. It’s by a British writer I enjoy reading named Simon Barnes. The book begins with these disturbing words: “We’re not just losing the wild world. We’re forgetting it. We’re no longer noticing it. We’ve lost the habit of looking and seeing and listening and hearing. We’re beginning to think it’s not really our business. We’re beginning to act as if it’s not there anymore.”
I find these words to be alarming, sad, and discouraging. Furthermore, I fear these words have the ring of truth to them. So many people these days are largely disconnected from nature. It plays only a small role, if any, in their lives. For me this is disheartening. I firmly believe that nature is meant to play a much larger role. Likewise, I’m convinced that there are serious repercussions for failing to give nature our careful attention.
Spiritually, our snubbing of nature causes us to miss out on one of God’s primary sources of revelation. Both the heavens and the earth offer witness to their Maker’s love, mercy and goodness. They supplement the Scripture’s witness to God’s majesty and glory. As spiritual beings our understanding of God will be truncated if we fail to give nature our careful attention.
Emotionally, our failure to notice nature will rob us of much joy and peace. Numerous studies have confirmed that exposure to nature has many emotional benefits. Our very health, emotional and physical, is connected to our exposure to the natural world. We literally hurt ourselves when we fail to connect with nature on a regular basis while we reap benefits when we do.
I would also argue that when we neglect nature we are less likely to be good stewards of God’s Creation. When we connect with nature we tend to love it. When we love something we are strongly inclined to care for it. Could our disconnection from nature be one of the underlying causes of the current environmental crisis? I suspect so.
We, and the world itself, would be better off if we gave nature the consideration it deserves day by day, season after season. But how do we do that? In Rewild Yourself Simon Barnes offers many suggestions. He urges us to be more intentional about being a part of nature and observing all it has to offer. He suggests that we get a good pair of binoculars and take a closer look at nature. Barnes believes we are missing much because we are not deliberately attempting to see what is around us. He encourages us to look for signs of wildlife around us, for tracks, scat, trails. We are likewise encouraged to listen more carefully for the sounds of nature. If we only “look” at nature we will miss out on so much. We need to put our ears to good use too. Barnes thinks we would all benefit from learning to identify birds by their songs alone.
Learning the names of various species, fauna and flora, is also strongly encouraged. As Barnes points out, when we know the names of others we automatically enter a more personal relationship. This is true for people; it is true for plants and animals too. A similar suggestion is purchasing field guides or books on nature so that we can learn more about the subjects we see and hear. Ideally, all of us should have a nature library.
There are many ways we can “rewild” ourselves and many good reasons for doing so. Spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally we will benefit from paying more attention to nature. Simon Barnes would suggests now would be a good time to start. I couldn’t agree more.
Do you experience loneliness? Statistics would indicate that periodically you do. Just about everyone does. How do you deal with loneliness? Some choose harmful paths but most people simply seek companionship. But where do we find the companionship we’re looking for? An obvious answer might be in our friends and family. A less obvious answer would be in nature.
A few days ago a good friend sent me a link to an article found in the most recent issue of The Christian Century. In this article the author, Tricia Gates Brown, claims that our problem isn’t just loneliness, it’s “species loneliness.” This phrase she picked up from novelist Richard Powers. Brown writes, “For Powers, species loneliness denotes the ways human beings have cut ourselves off from the nonhuman species inhabiting our world. In our desire for dominance and self-gratification we have put ourselves in solitary confinement, and in the worst cases become the tormenter of all things nonhuman. We have deprived ourselves of love relationships with nonhumans.” Brown goes on to say that species loneliness is making us sick. “We were never meant to operate as an autonomous and independent species. We desperately need the full cooperation of other species to survive, from large mammals that maintain a crucial balance within ecosystems to microbial communities in our own guts. As a result of our non-cooperation, interspecies disconnection is breaking down the systems humans depend on. This disconnection is deeper than the interdependence of biological systems; it is also theological. That’s why, to my ears, the word loneliness gets at the issue with such scalpel-precision. Loneliness has been defined as being ‘destitute of sympathetic companionship.’ It is a sickness of the heart and soul, the parts of ourselves we cannot see yet know to be our very essence.”
I believe that Brown is on to something here. Loneliness is a reality for many of us and the root of that loneliness is not always human. This explains why some people turn to their pets for companionship. It may sound strange to some but there are people I know who find companionship in certain trees or flowers. I’m convinced that this is just how God has made us. In the Creation stories in the Bible animals and plants play a prominent role. We are meant to interact with the rest of Creation and can find an antidote to loneliness there as well as with other humans. This enables us to “widen the family circle of love.” At the end of Brown’s article she says “God as immanent companion encountered in nature—under a stone or in the eyes of a hummingbird or a dog—is wonderfully good news for people sick with loneliness. Love is abundant and waiting for us, right there in nature.” Are you willing to expand the boundaries of your love? If so, you may well find your periods of loneliness lessen to a significant degree.
“For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord; I sing for joy at the work of your hands.” Psalm 92:4
While on a road trip with a friend last week he told me about a book by Leigh Ann Henion called Phenomenal: A Hesitant Adventurer’s Search for Wonder in the Natural World. In this book Henion talks about the importance of wonder for our lives and how it can be found especially in nature. She chronicles her experiences of wonder visiting migrating monarchs, Hawaiian volcanoes, viewing the northern lights, while on an African safari, and observing a total eclipse of the sun. Learning about this book has made me think about some of the places where I have experienced wonder and its counterpart, worship, in nature. Space does not permit an exhaustive list but here are a few.
I have experienced wonder each time I have visited slot canyons in the desert southwest. When light from above is reflected on the sandstone rock walls the result is pure magic. Like Henion, I have also experienced wonder and awe observing the northern lights. Watching the curtains of light move across the Alaskan skies moved me to the depths of my soul. It was truly a spiritual experience. I have likewise experienced a deep sense of wonder in Alaska watching giant glaciers calve. The sights and sounds of this phenomenon inspire me in a remarkable way. I could say the same thing about walking amidst the giant sequoias and redwood trees of California.
I remember feeling wonder and awe the first time I looked up at the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. There was something about those mountains that humbled me and made me feel small in more ways than one. I have also experienced a heightened sense of wonder each time I’ve visited the geyser basins in Yellowstone National Park. Watching geysers like Old Faithful, Giant, Grand, and Castle erupt thrill both my heart and soul. The same thing can be said for sunsets I’ve experienced in the Grand Canyon and sunrises on the coast of Maine.
Many times I have been moved to awe and wonder watching wildlife. It’s happened observing a whitetail fawn take its first steps and coastal brown bears snatching salmon midair at Katmai’s Brooks Falls. It’s happened while listening to sandhill cranes migrate overhead and while watching humpback whales frolic in the seas. Getting to see wolves and moose in the wild have likewise provoked wonder and awe.
Henion speaks about how the phenomena she experienced proved to be life-changing. The things I’ve mentioned have also been life-changing for me. In each instance I believe I have been able to catch a glimpse of the Divine. I see each example as a gift of God’s grace. I sincerely believe that it has been the Creator’s intention all along to show us God through the handiwork of Creation. Most of the examples I cited are big things but God is also revealed in the small for those with eyes to see. It might be a tiny delicate wildflower or the wings of a butterfly. It could even be something so simple and complex as a snowflake. The truth is, God may be found in all that God has made and when we truly see we cannot help but be moved by wonder and awe to worship. Wouldn’t you agree? What natural phenomena have moved you to wonder and awe?
It seems like every other day I come across another discouraging report concerning the environment. Recently I read about an assessment made by an United Nations study. It indicated that “humans are transforming Earth’s natural landscapes so dramatically that as many as 1 million plant and animal species are now at risk of extinction, posing a dire threat to ecosystems that people all over the world depend on for their survival.” According to Brad Plumer, “in most major land habitats, from the savannas of Africa to the rain forests of South America, the average abundance of native plant and animal life has fallen by 20% or more, mainly over the past century. With the human population passing 7 billion, activities like farming, logging, poaching, fishing and mining are altering the natural world at a rate ‘unprecedented in human history.’ At the same time, a new threat has emerged: Global warming has become a major driver of wildlife decline by shifting or shrinking the local climates that many mammals, birds, insects, fish and plants evolved to survive in.”
The United Nations report should be a wake-up call for all of us. Humans are accelerating the rate of extinction by rates unseen before. This will ultimately affect all of us. I happen to believe that people of faith should be particularly concerned about this trend. The Creation story in the Bible affirms the goodness of all that God made. Genesis 1:31 says “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” There is a divine reason for the existence of every plant or animal. All play an important role in the web of life. In First Corinthian 12 the apostle Paul makes a case that the church is like a human body. He says all the parts have a role to play; all the parts are important. I would argue that the same thing is true in Creation. All that has been made is good, is essential for the well-being of the larger body, and has a role to play. Paul says in the church no one has the right to say to another part “I don’t need you.” In the same way, we have no right to say that we don’t need certain plants or animals. That is not our call. Surely we are humble enough to admit that God is wiser than us. If we believe the hand of God is behind all living creatures we should be willing to fight for their protection.
A few days ago I found a prayer in a book called Earth Gospel: A Guide to Prayer for God’s Creation that would be good for all of us to pray: “Lord, you love life; we owe our existence to you. Give us reverence for life and love for every creature. Sharpen our senses so that we shall recognize the beauty and also the longing of your creation, and, as befits your children, treat our fellow creatures of the animal and plant kingdoms with love as our brothers and sisters, in readiness for your great day, when you will make all things new.” It seems well past time that we began to take species extinction seriously. If we claim to love and serve the Creator, we will love what has been created too and be willing to do what we can to protect all species.
I have loved trees since I was a little boy. I grew up playing in the woods and I think that has influenced my affection for trees. Since taking up nature photography over twenty-five years ago, there’s no telling how many trees I’ve photographed. They are one of my favorite subjects. I also have quite a few books on trees. Recently I’ve been reading The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. It is a fascinating book and I’m learning a lot about trees in it. And about other things as well.
Early in the book Wohlleben makes the case that trees are social beings. He indicates that they share food with their own species and sometimes even go so far as to nourish their competitors. He goes on to say there are many advantages to trees working together. Wohlleben writes: “A tree is not a forest. On its own, a tree cannot establish a consistent local climate. It is at the mercy of wind and weather. But together, many trees create an ecosystem that moderates extremes of heat and cold, stores a great deal of water, and generates a great deal of humidity. And in this protected environment, trees can live to be very old. To get to this point, the community must remain intact no matter what. If every tree were looking out only for itself, then quite a few of them would never reach old age. Regular fatalities would result in many large gaps in the tree canopy, which would make it easier for storms to get inside the forest and uproot more trees. The heat of summer would reach the forest floor and dry it out. Every tree would suffer. Every tree, therefore, is valuable to the community and worth keeping around for as long as possible.”
Being a pastor, I have to admit that these words made me immediately think about the church. As Christians, we can only survive in community with other believers. There are so many things we cannot do alone and were never meant to. We are meant to live out our faith with others. We are interdependent. Today a lot of people strive to be independent but this doesn’t work in the community of faith. We need each other, just like the trees do. We cannot afford to look out only for ourselves. Our spiritual lives are truncated and diminished when we isolate ourselves from other believers. We hurt both ourselves and those around us.
Another important parallel is that just as every tree is valuable to the community or forest and worth keeping around as long as possible, every Christian is valuable to his or her community of faith and worth keeping around as long as possible. The apostle Paul made the same point when he talked about the church being like a body made up of different parts. He said all parts have a role to play and are, therefore, valuable and necessary. (See 1 Corinthians 12:14ff) We need to remember this for a lot of reasons. We must affirm the value of all members in our community of faith. We all need each other if we are going to grow and thrive. We all need each other if we are going to accomplish our purpose as a community of faith. Once again, there simply is no place for isolation in the community of faith.
Jesus encouraged us to “consider the lilies” and to pay attention to the birds. I suspect he would also encourage us to pay attention to the trees around us. They have a lot to teach us.
Recently I had a chance to go to California and spend a week photographing with Rob Sheppard. It turned out to be a marvelous trip. Everywhere we went there seemed to be something special waiting for us to explore and photograph. Numerous times I found myself saying “Wow!” Even more often I would catch myself saying “Thank you!” to God for the blessing of getting to see what I saw. There were several adorable sea otters that we were able to spend time with around Morro Bay. We also had many opportunities to enjoy this year’s super display of wildflowers. At Carrizo Plains National Monument we saw wildflowers flowing across thousands of acres and even into the mountains. It was a marvelous sight to behold. We spent a good bit of time along the central coast of California and the beauty there likewise called for countless expressions of gratitude. I felt incredibly blessed to see all I did.
A few days ago I was looking at a book I own which happens to be a collection of “famous prayers.” I came across one prayer that helped remind me that for those with eyes to see there are always blessings in nature waiting to be seen. The prayer spoke to me and perhaps it will to you as well. It was penned by John Oxenham and is taken from “A Little Te Deum of the Commonplace.”
“For all the first sweet flushings of the spring; The greening earth, the tender heavenly blue; The rich brown furrows gaping for the seed; For all thy grace in bursting bud and leaf… For hedgerows sweet with hawthorn and wild rose; For meadows spread with gold and gemmed with stars, For every tint of every tiniest flower, For every daisy smiling to the sun; For every bird that builds in joyous hope, For every lamb that frisks beside its dam, For every leaf that rustles in the wind, For spring poplar, and for spreading oak, For queenly birch, and lofty swaying elm; For the great cedar’s benedictory grace, For earth’s ten thousand fragrant incenses, Sweet altar-gifts from leaf and fruit and flower… For ripening summer and the harvesting; For all the rich autumnal glories spread—The flaming pageant of the ripening woods, The fiery gorse, the heather-purpled hills, The rustling leaves that fly before the wind and lie below the hedgerows whispering; For meadows silver-white with hoary dew; For sheer delight of tasting once again that first crisp breath, of winter in the air; The pictured pane; the new white world without; The sparkling hedgerows witchery of lace, The soft white flakes that fold the sleeping earth; The cold without, the cheerier warm within… For all the glowing heart of Christmas-tide, We thank thee, Lord!”
Oxenham is right, there is always something in God’s Creation to catch our attention and elicit our praise and thanksgiving. Needless to say, some things catch our eyes or attention quicker than others but if we will really pay attention we will find plenty to give thanks for no matter where we are or what time of the year it happens to be. What are you seeing right now that leads you to offer a prayer of thanksgiving?
–Chuck
(I took the three pictures shown above on my recent trip to California.)
