From a poem by John O’Donohue:
…May dawn find you awake and alert, approaching your new day with dreams,
Possibilities and promises.
May evening find you gracious and fulfilled.
May you go into the night blessed, sheltered and protected.
May your soul calm, console and renew you.
~ John O’Donohue
Lower Gray Wolf River Trail, photo by KR Backwoods Photography, used with permission
Food for us comes from our relatives, whether they have wings or fins or roots. That is how we consider food. Food has a culture. It has a history. It has a story. It has relationships.
~ Winona LaDuke
Aspens and Pines, San Francisco Peaks, Northern AZ – photo by Don Smith Photography, used with permission
Once I saw a chimpanzee gaze at a particularly beautiful sunset for a full 15 minutes, watching the changing colors [and then] retire to the forest without picking a pawpaw for supper.
~ Adriaan Kortlandt
Grand Canyon Sunset – photo by Don Smith Photography, used with permission
The time has come to lower our voices, to cease imposing our mechanistic patterns on the biological processes of the earth, to resist the impulse to control, to command, to force, to oppress, and to begin quite humbly to follow the guidance of the larger community on which all life depends.
~ Thomas Berry
Storm Swells, Soberanes Cove, Garapatta State Park, Big Sur Coast, CA – photo by Don Smith Photography, used with permission
Thanks for sharing these photos…
Today’s world may still at times make us feel lonely, but we can then remember what every animal, every insect, every plant knows and only we have forgotten: the living sacred whole.
~ Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
Moonbow, Yosemite Valley – photo by Don Smith Photography, used with permission
Every breath is a sacrament, an affirmation of our connection with all other living things, a renewal of our link with our ancestors and a contribution to generations yet to come. Our breath is a part of life’s breath, the ocean of air that envelopes the earth.
~ David Suzuki, The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature
Half Dome Lightening, Yosemite – photo by Gary Hart Photography, used with permission
One cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries to comprehend only a little of this mystery every day.
~ Albert Einstein
Photo by Zastrozzi Dh Photography, used with permission
Thanks for sharing these photos…
We need to learn once again how to walk and breathe in a sacred universe, to feel this heartbeat of life. Hearing its presence speak to us, we feel this great bond of life that supports and nourishes us all.
~Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
Ice Cone = Ash Cave Hills State Park, OH – photo by Fultz Fotos, used with permission
Wildness we might consider as the root of the authentic spontaneities of any being. It is that wellspring of creativity whence comes the instinctive activities that enable all living beings to obtain their food, to find shelter, to bring forth their young: to sing and dance and fly through the air and swim through the depths of the sea. This is the same inner tendency that evokes the insight of the poet, the skill of the artist and the power of the shaman.
~ Thomas Berry
River of Light, Grand Canyon – photo by Gary Hart Photography, used with permission
From a BBC World Service Inquiry Program:
Professor Stefano Mancuso runs the International Laboratory for Plant Neurobiology at the University of Florence. In an experiment with two climbing plants, they found that both competed for a single support when it was placed between them. The plant that didnt make it to the pole first immediately “sensed” the other plant had succeeded and started to find an alternative. “This was astonishing and it demonstrates the plants were aware of their physical environment and the behavior of the other plant. In animals we call this consciousness. We are convinced that plants are cognitive and intelligent.”
Aspen Grove, Lundy Canyon, Eastern Sierra, California – photo by Don Smith Photography, used with permission
We are not here on Earth to be alone, but to be a part of a living community, a web of life in which all is sacred. Like the cells of our body, all of life is in constant communication, as science is just beginning to understand. No bird sings in isolation, no bud breaks open alone. And the most central note that is present in life is its sacred nature, something we need to each rediscover and honor anew.
~ Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
Great Blue Heron – photo by Marcel Pepin Photography, used with permission
We can breathe with the Earth and we can breathe for the Earth. Many of us are so caught up in our plans, fears, agitations, and dreams that we are not living in our bodies any more and were not in touch with our real mother, the Earth, either. We cant see all the miraculous beauty and magnificence that Mother Earth ceaselessly offers to us Returning to our breathing brings body and mind back together and reminds us of the miracle of the present moment. Mother Earth is right here at every moment, all around us – so powerful, generous, and supportive; so patient, accepting and compassionate, and with an immense capacity to transform. Once we recognize these qualities in Mother Earth, we can take refuge in her in difficult moments, making it easier for us to embrace our fear and suffering and to transform it.
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Ruby Beach, photo by KR Backwoods Photography, used with permission
The nomadic gatherer-hunters live in an entirely sacred world. Their spirituality reaches as far as all of their relations. They know the animals and plants that surround them and not only the ones of immediate importance. They speak with what we would call ‘inanimate objects,’ but they can speak the same language. They know how to see beyond themselves and are not limited to the human languages that we hold so dearly. Their existence is grounded in place, they wander freely, but they are always home, welcome and fearless.
~ Kevin Tucker
Sahalie Falls, McKenzie River – photo by Sandy’s Adventure Photography, used with permission
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We return thanks to our mother, the Earth,
which sustains us.
We return thanks to the rivers and streams,
which supply us with water.
We return thanks to all herbs,
which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases.
We return thanks to the moon and stars,
which have given to us their light when the sun was gone.
We return thanks to the sun,
that has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.
Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit,
in Whom is embodied all goodness,
and Who directs all things for the good of Her children.
~ Iroquois Prayer
Winter Arrives – El Capitan, Yosemite – photo by Gary Hart Photography, used with permission
To truly embody the idea that we are all one, we require “vision,” which is much more than seeing. To achieve vision of the intricate web of energy that connects us all requires a transformational shift in our being.
~ Dr. Barry Taylor
Virga, Rainbow, and Yuccas – photo by Don Smith Photography, used with permission
