New Perspectives from Nature
“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
The moon and the stars you have set on their courses,
What is humankind that you should be mindful of us?”
--Psalm 8: 4, 5
These verses deal with an interesting question. It is a question we don’t want to encounter. We must face the question. Clearly the writer recognizes both how small he/she is and how profoundly privileged he/she is. The question should cause us to realize just how skewed our vision can become.
Somehow we get stuck. Our affluence can cause us to miss simple joys in simple things. By taking so little time focusing on the biggest picture, we try to create a big picture of our own. A collection of objects from nature—stones, feathers, pine cones, a flower, blades of grass can really help us in our spiritual development. Taking 15 minutes in your day to simply be with an object and allowing it to “tell its story” can truly be a meaningful way of getting in touch with our own “infinite smallness.” Taking time with the surroundings of nature that have been around forever can give us new perspectives about the plastic we use to purchase plastic things. One of my most recent additions is “The Contemplation Garden.” If you'd like to know more about it, please contact me and I'll give you the details.
Consider the works of God’s creation for 15 brief minutes a day and you too will probably wonder, “Why is God so mindful of me?” Enjoy discovering the answer to this important question.
A prayer for today: Holy God, slow me down enough so that in stillness I can discover. Amen.
Ben Keckler
01.07.10
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