When we walk in grassland, or in any place where the natural order of things holds a rich array of life together, the quality of our encounter can easily default to a collection of views from hilltop to valley, experiences that may linger on the skin and on the retina but go no deeper. You talk to the friends you came with, and the bubble of ordinariness that surrounds you every day follows you out onto the prairie, protecting you from the persuasions of birdsong and wind.
But then there are those other, too rare times when a walk draws you in and the world takes you down to another kind of awareness. Your friends cannot come so you go alone. The light seems different, the grass, but you too seem more and less than yourself, a hand's span, a breath's free and passing gift away from who you were when you left home.
To get there, Franciscan Richard Rohr suggests that we might try consciousness. He offers the following set of instructions, beginning by "finding or creating a conscious threshold":
Wilderness WanderingGo to a place in nature where you can walk freely and alone, ideally some place where human impact is minimal—a forest, canyon, prairie, bog, mountain. Tell someone where you will be and how long you expect to be there. Take adequate water and clothing for the conditions.
Begin
your wandering by finding or creating a conscious threshold (perhaps an
arched branch overhead or a narrow passage between rocks). Here offer a
voiced prayer of your intention and desire for this time. Step across
the threshold quite deliberately and, on this side of your sacred
boundary, speak no words, but only expect!
Let the land, plants, and creatures lead your feet and eyes. Let yourself be drawn, rather than walking with a destination or purpose in mind. If you are called to a particular place or thing, stop and be still, letting yourself be known and know, through silent communion with the Other. Before you leave, offer some gesture or token of gratitude for the gift the wild has given you.
When it is time to return to the human world, find again your threshold and cross over. But now you have learned to expect God in all things.Richard Rohr
Posts
Bill Plotkin in his book SOULCRAFT would suggest a similar approach when "Wandering in Nature (pp. 241-247). Beside finding "God in all things" as suggested by Richard Rohr, Plotkin would say that such wandering in nature is at the hub of numerous soul-based practices and provides seeds for dreams, deep imagery work, self-designed ceremony, and sacred wound work, etc. A powerful practice indeed.
ReplyDeleteI would also suggest putting the camera away sometimes too so that you become participant rather than just observer.
ReplyDeletethanks Kathy--very true. Cameras are wonderful but can be a kind of impediment.
DeleteOr, you can look at cameras as a motivator. An “excuse” if you ever need one, to spend time outdoors. I was a keen birdwatcher in my younger days and now replaced binoculars with a camera. I am still an observer but living at a different pace; not interested in counting the birds for 5 minutes and then moving on. Sometimes I could spend an hour or two in one spot, immersed in the surroundings that visually change in front of my eyes. To quote from Richard Rohr: “Let the land, plants, and creatures lead your feet and eyes. Let yourself be drawn, rather than walking with a destination or purpose in mind.” Quite often I do not even reach my desired destination, as I spend too much time enjoying the journey.
DeleteTrue--both photography and birding can be terrific ways for people to become seduced into opening their eyes and hearts.
DeleteThat's my kinda walk! That's a poet's walk.
ReplyDeleteHey Bernadette--do you have any grassland walk poems or know of any I could post here?
DeleteThanks for that comment Bernard--Soulcraft was an important book for me too. I have a CD of Plotkin and Rohr doing a workshop together a couple of years ago.
ReplyDelete