The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something, and tell what it saw in a plain way…. To see clearly is poetry, prophecy, and religion—all in one.
—John Ruskin, Works, vol. 5
In season six of the podcast Learning How to See, CAC Dean of Faculty Brian McLaren describes how contemplative spirituality supported his love for God in nature’s depth and beauty:
I was taught to see the natural world as God’s creation. But largely, nature was only important because it either proved how great God was to make it, or it was a battleground in the culture war between evolutionism and creationism. It felt like heaven and hell were the only important items in the universe. Compared to heaven and hell, a red eft, or a fossil in a rock, or a crayfish were not so important.
I remember a song I really loved to sing in church. It was called “Fairest Lord Jesus.” One of the verses said, “Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands robed in the blooming garb of spring.” Those lines really rang true for me. Of course, what came next was, “Jesus shines fairer. Jesus shines purer.” I remember thinking, “Well, it’s nice that we at least acknowledged how beautiful the meadows, woodlands, and springtime can be, even though we needed then to demote them in a way by contrasting their fairness with Jesus.”
Years later, I came upon another song called “Have You Seen Jesus My Lord?” In that song there was a verse that said, “Have you ever stood at the ocean with a white foam at your feet, felt the endless thundering motion? Then I say you’ve seen Jesus my Lord.” Instead of putting Jesus and nature in competition, saying that Jesus was fairer, or better, this song said, “The same beauty that you love and are drawn to in nature is the beauty that’s in Jesus.”
I think in part that is what attracted me to contemplative spirituality. Instead of dismissing the natural world, contemplative spirituality invited me to see the divine in the natural world, to enjoy it for its endless depth of meaning and insight.
McLaren invites listeners to recall looking at nature through a “child’s eyes” and what those experiences revealed:
It might’ve been being at the beach and seeing a flock of seagulls in flight that suddenly made you aware of beauty in a way you’d never felt it before, or it may have been the first dog that you really knew, loved, and connected with. It helped you think of intelligence that was different than your own, and beautiful in its own unique way. It might’ve been some other scene where you felt sacredness, and holiness, and depth in the natural world. It’s easy for us … to forget that childlike wonder at this beautiful world. We don’t need to put God and nature in competition. Nature is God’s original self-expression.
Reference:
Adapted from Brian McLaren, “Seeing Nature as a Child (Wonder),” Learning How to See, season 6, ep. 1 (Albuquerque, NM: Center for Action and Contemplation, 2024), podcast. Available as MP3 audio download and PDF transcript.
Image credit and inspiration: Jenna Keiper, love and reeds (detail), 2021, photo, Los Angeles. Click here to enlarge image. We love nature as a friend, holding it gently and developing a relationship through our bodies.
Story from Our Community:
In my nearly 80 years, “home” has meant over thirteen different places. I have always tried to make each house, city, environment a home through building relationships with the natural world and the people around me. I have been very blessed by the wisdom of the Daily Meditations. I am finding deeper meanings of home through the online community of the CAC.
—Linda J.
