By Dr. Robert Norman, Clinical Professor, Dermatology, Nova Southeastern University
John Muir wrote about the spiritual and transcendent connection we find in nature:
Everything is flowing, going somewhere, animals and so-called lifeless rocks as well as water. Thus the snow flows fast or slow in grand beauty-making glaciers and avalanches; the air in majestic floods carrying minerals, plant leaves, seeds, spores, with streams of music and fragrance; water streams carrying rock… While the stars go streaming through space pulsed on and on forever like blood globules in Nature’s warm heart. When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.
My First Summer in the Sierra , 1911, page 110.
Muir wrote that when contemplating the mountains and the streams of the High Sierras he was “reminded that everything is flowing – going somewhere.” As human beings we have the gift (or the curse) of a self-conscious mind. We understand our individual nature and often struggle with the direction of our lives and deciding which path we should take in life. The wisdom of these mountains and streams is that we are a part of a much larger natural world, constantly flowing and evolving.
Allowing yourself to be swept up in this flowing of natural energy is a religious experience. The crumbling mountains spires sheer off into alpine lakes, the lakes end in roaring streams, these rivers and streams carry sediment into the valleys, into the soil, up into the vegetation, and finally into the animals of the valley such as deer. Each organism plays its role and unconsciously feeds into a larger symphony of life.
It’s a beautiful thing to believe in fate, a higher power or destiny for each one of us. It can be difficult to grasp but maybe there is some wisdom to allow your soul to become part of the pulsating blood flow of the Earth, of all creation. We marvel at the stars, perhaps because we look inward as we look out into the heavens—we are made of stardust. Muir writes, “Stars go streaming through space pulsed on like blood globules in Nature’s warm heart.”
Throughout history, theologians have taught that God wrote “two books”—the Bible and the book of nature. What they mean is that God has chosen to reveal himself through both the Bible and the natural world.
Have you ever thought of writing and writing about nature as a way to serve God? The holy ancients wrote down God’s word according to his commandments and inspiration so that countless people after them could get to know God through the Bible.
A closer look into the Bible (Torah) reveals that God wrote: He wrote the Ten Commandments on stone tablets (Ex 34:1, Deut 10:2). God also commanded His chosen people to write His words on the doorposts of their own houses (Deut 6:6, 9), on large stones after entering the land of Canaan (Deut 27:1-4, 8), and on the tablet of their hearts (Prov 3:3, 7:3). He wanted Israel to remember His words so that they would guide them in their faith journey. God even told Israel how they should write:
“And you shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law.” (Deut 27:8)
God wanted His people to write down the commandments “very plainly”, i.e., in a clear and simple manner, so that everyone could understand them.
In Psalm 19, David writes that “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands. Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge” (vs. 1) The 18th century Christian poet, William Blake, wrote about learning “To see a world in a grain of sand/and a heaven in a wildflower.” In many ways, he’s echoing David’s call to give attention to the heavens and all that they declare about God.
Nature is both an enormous source of inspiration and a teacher that outlines God’s character and how he has structured the world. This is why Job 12:7-9 says, “Ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?”
These examples show that God places great emphasis on writing and nature because through writing and being in nature more people can learn and believe and be encouraged in their faith. And writing about any subject—including nature, arts, science and myriads of other topics can allow us to understand, enjoy, and experience God’s wonderful creations.
I will finish with Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav’s Prayer for Nature:
Grant me the ability to be alone; may it be my custom to go outdoors each day among the trees and grass—among all growing things and there may I be alone, and enter into prayer, to talk with the One to whom I belong. May I express there everything in my heart, and may all the foliage of the field—all grasses, trees, and plants—awake at my coming, to send the powers of their life into the words of my prayer so that my prayer and speech are made whole through the life and spirit of all growing things, which are made as one by their transcendent Source. May I then pour out the words of my heart before your Presence like water, O Lord, and lift up my hands to You in worship, on my behalf, and that of my children!
Where can you find God and Nature and be inspired to write?
Get out into The Great Florida Outdoors!
References
https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/stardust-makes-up-97-per-cent-of-our-bodies-4466944/
Ninety-seven percent of the human body consists of stardust, claim scientists who have measured the distribution of essential elements of life in over 150,000 stars in the Milky Way galaxy. The six most common elements of life on Earth—including more than 97 percent of the mass of a human body—are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur, and phosphorus. It is an undeniable fact that most of the essential elements of life are made in stars.
Writing for God https://tjc.org/elib-single-item-display/?type=pub&langid=1&parentid=25893&itemid=25889 DH
Andrews comments on Muir
https://wellwateredwomen.com/nature-the-bible-and-knowing-god/
Dr. Norman is an advanced master naturalist graduate of the FMNP program from UF and a board-certified dermatologist based in Tampa and Riverview. He can be reached at 813-880-7546.
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