Finding Peace

FIRST OF ALL - I have to apologize for the weird formatting of the text of this post.  I have spent the past hour trying to make it look better with no luck.  I don't know what in the world I did to make it have this shadow - so I am sorry it is difficult to read.  Please bear with me...

We are in troubled times – the earth has always had troubled times, of course, some worse than others, for different people.  In my lifetime, I have always felt safe where I live and work but lately there seems to be so much anger and division – the media is blaring it and sensationalizing it to the point that it seems everyone hates everyone else and it creates fear. 

When all I hear is how terrible everything is - and I am certainly not minimizing the awful events that have been going on around the world, I have to step back and reconnect with my spiritual side.  I immediately say prayers for those who have been affected. The victims and their families could be me or my family and I never want to take life for granted.  I do my best to send love out into the world and the people I come in contact with.   I still believe there are more good than bad people – most of us just want to live our lives, love our families and friends and live in peace.  

Have you ever seen the photograph named The Pale Blue Dot?   Here is one I found - Google it -- you will find even better quality images than I could upload here.

This narrow-angle color image of the Earth, dubbed 'Pale Blue Dot', is a part of the first ever 'portrait' of the solar system taken by Voyager 1 several decades ago.  The spacecraft acquired a total of 60 frames for a mosaic of the solar system from a distance of more than 4 billion miles from Earth.  

This picture stunned me the first time I saw it.  We truly are a tiny speck in a vast universe.   Sometimes I wonder if the people who are fighting and hating and terrorizing could simply be taken up into space to view our precious planet from afar would it make a difference?  It seems so preposterous to fight each other when we occupy such a speck of dust. 

When I feel overwhelmed and burdened by the sadness of the world as I do right now I have to turn away and connect with God through the natural world.  This is something I have done all my life, even as a little girl. I have always loved camping, hiking, backpacking – anything to get out in the woods to refresh my spirit.  I get the same affect at the ocean shore. 

Nature heals.  I think one of the problems with the world today is there isn’t enough communing with nature and experiencing the healing power of being outside in the natural world.  Not just walking on the asphalt of the city, but being enveloped in the wilderness, contemplating the rhythms and heartbeat of our planet.

I love to read books by nature writers.  Terry Tempest Williams, Henry David Thoreau and Anne LaBastille are all wonderful authors who capture the essence of nature, but my favorite and the one I relate to the most is John Muir. 

Muir, was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His environmental activism helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. He also founded the Sierra Club, 

He was a prolific writer and his stories and quotes speak to me like no other.   He lived much of his life in the Yosemite Valley.  He was entranced with the beauty of that land and his writing brings that area to life.  My 60^th birthday is next year and I plan to visit Yosemite – the #1 place on my bucket list.  I can’t think of a better place to celebrate my 6^th decade than hiking in the same areas that influenced such soul stirring quotes as these:

“When we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty.” 
― John Muir 

 “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity...” 
― John Muir 

“In God's wildness lies the hope of the world.” 
― John Muir spiritual quote

I believe part of the problem in our society is that we need to connect to our planet – this pale blue dot that is floating in a universe so vast it is impossible to comprehend.  Healing for body and soul can be found in the woods, at the seashore, in an alpine meadow or anywhere that we can actually tune out man made noise and really hear and see the rhythms of creation. 

Another favorite of mine is a book co-written by Christian Pastor, Louie Giglio entitled Indescribable.  It is full of pictures taken by the Hubble Telescope from some of the darkest reaches of our universe and he blends these wonderful discoveries with scripture about the power of God.  It is an inspiring read.  

I hope I don't offend anyone about finding peace and hope through God and Christian Faith -- this is MY path -- it may not be everyone's and I understand that.  We all find our own way.  Each morning I start my day with a bible reading and meditation.  I have lots of flowers and wildlife in my yard to enjoy and I get outside in the wild places as often as possible.

An annual trip to the beach is healing for my spirit as well and my granddaughter makes me even more aware of the importance of spreading love and healing to everyone I come in contact with for her sake and for the sake of the whole world.   

How do you bring yourself back to center and find refreshment when you feel sad, burdened and anxious? 

P.S.  I will work to get my formatting back to normal for future posts but wanted to get this one out..... :)