There were no beautiful flowers or stunning colors of leaves. There was just a fallen, dried-out log; the ever-present prickly pear cactus; some live oak trees, weeds and me. But somehow this ordinary walk in the woods became a moment of prayer immersion for me.
Trappist Monk and author, Thomas Merton said, "Prayer is then not just a formula of words, or a series of desires springing up in the heart--it is the orientation of our whole body, mind and spirit to God in silence, attention, and adoration. All good meditative prayer is a conversion of our entire self to God."
As I took Merton's words to heart, my entire self became engaged in the moment. The sun was sending some warmth on a cool morning. I felt centered, healthy and grateful. As I walked with a spring in my step and a happy, sniffing dog at my side, I paused to pray for all the friends and folks I know who do not have the assurance of excellent health; for those who are in the hospital putting up a mighty fight for life itself; for those who are dealing with depression and heartache; for those who are all alone and worried about survival; for all who are facing uncertainty and pain in difficult or broken relationships; for those who are grieving. And, somehow in the quiet moments of a walk in the woods, I felt a deep assurance that God is present and at work in my life and theirs. God's love is the balm that can and will see us through.
Virginia Woolf was a well-known, important modernist 20th Century writer. She was - and still is - admired for her experiments with language, narrative, and time. She promoted feminist themes and also wrote essays on artistic theory, literary history, and the politics of power. Woolf's life was not a Facebook, picture-perfect life. She struggled with mental health issues and some huge losses and tragedies in her life, including sexual abuse. Even so, she hoped for living fully as she tried to escape life's hardships. This quote from Virginia is compelling. She wrote:
"Whatever happens, stay alive. Don't die before you're dead. Don't lose yourself, don't lose hope, don't lose direction. Stay alive, with yourself, with every cell in your body, with every fiber of your skin. Stay alive, learn, study, think, read, build, invent, create, speak, write, dream, design. Stay alive, stay alive inside you, stay alive also outside, fill yourself with colors of the world, fill yourself with peace, fill yourself with hope--with Wow Scenery. Stay alive with joy. There is only one thing you shouldn't waste in life, and that's life itself."
My simple walk in the woods showed me life and decay; beauty and thorniness. Life is not a straight line. For me, it is more like a spiral--ongoing even when not understood. The cycle of life and nature reminds me that the healing process never really ends. Even death can be the ultimate healing and, in its own way, death generates new life. At some level, I can decide that my wounds are not going to stop me from becoming the person I want to be. In that walk in the woods, I was looking for God's best hope for me---for the creative Spirit of God to guide and hold me in my deepest places of living and loving. God always meets me in the woods. In fact, God meets me wherever I am. Prayer: Loving God, thank you for the walks and the talks in the woods and in life. Help me to never waste a day of it. Amen.
Whatever the Path
Jay McDaniel
We pray as we can, not as we can't. For many people, a walk in the woods is the best way to pray. And, for some, the only way to pray. They are not sure what they believe, but they know that in the woods and in the walk something sacred is present.
In the woods, we find life and decay, greenery and barren branches; the beauty and the thorns. We are inwardly awakened to, and enlivened by, the whole of it.
We are also enlivened by the very act of walking, its rhythms, its steps and its missteps. For William Wordsworth, the Romantic poet who so inspired Alfred North Whitehead, walking was his primary practice. It was the context in which the poems arose for him, both in what he saw around him and in what he felt inside. See Walking with Wordsworth: Finding Sanctuary in Green Spaces. In this Nita Gilger stands, or better walks, in a long and rich tradition. What I appreciate about Nita's insights, sometimes more than Wordsworth's, is that she is honest about the woods. Nita reminds us that the spaces in which we walk do not need to be free from decay, or from thorns, in order to inspire us; to let us know that we are part of, not apart from, the Earth community; and to remind us that our walking, however stilted and unsure at times, can be guided by a Spirit within and beyond that community. Walking itself is a poetic practice, yes, and also a spiritual practice. It is not only a way of having insights into life, it is a way of praying: See Walking as a Spiritual Practice.
As we walk can we talk? Yes, Wordsworth certainly did, and Nita does as well. Talking and walking go together. Talking is a form of walking, too, even if it occurs quietly, without our vocalizing it. And listening is a form of walking as well. In prayer we can be walked by the Spirit. We can talk to the Spirit within and beyond, who somehow includes both the decay and the greenery, in a hopeful way, and who quietly says to us, as we listen: "Stay alive, stay creative, keep loving, keep walking. I will be with you, on whatever path you travel."
And, the Spirit adds, "Take advantage of whatever woods are available to you. A backyard garden? A tree outside your window? A house plant in your bedroom? Go for it. And take advantage of whatever paths are open to you. A walk in a local park? A walk outside to touch the tree? A walk inside around your home? A walk around your bedroom? Go for it. And take advantage of whatever legs as well. Two legs? One leg? A wheel chair? Tapping a table with your fingers? Go for it.
So many woods, so many paths, so many ways to walk. We pray as we can, not as we can't. We walk, however we can, in the deep Listening.