Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

A Sense of Place

Home
Pagan
Being in nature

Being in nature

Last updated on: May 8, 2017 at 5:39 pm by Elinor Prędota

Being in nature 2017-05-08T17:39:34+00:00 Elinor Prędota

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

My Paganism is very much a ‘nature’ religion. I find my connection with myself, other beings, and Life through what most of us think of as ‘natural’ environments. Regardless of my desire to become an urban as well as a rural Witch, I can’t see that changing any time soon. But why?

I gained some insight into that question this morning.

We’ve been in our ‘temporary’ accommodation for well over a year now, but I’ve only just discovered a good spot for my devotions: through a gate, up a path, and down in the horse paddock, there’s a small watercourse with a hollow in its bank just right for sitting down and being.

I’ve begun to go there as often as I can, not waiting to feel ‘spiritual’, or until there’s a crisis, to connect, just taking myself there, with all my thoughts and feelings, exactly as I am in the moment. I sit, and I breathe, with the water and the plants, the insects and the birds, the earth and the heavens.

Sometimes I get a very diffuse sense of connection with Life, feeling all the individual beings around me as parts of a tapestry, telling a far bigger story than their own life and times. Other times, like this morning, my attention is drawn more to those individual beings.

Common carder bee (Bombus pascuorum). Image by JerryL2008 used under Creative Commons License.

A bumble bee flew next to me on the bank, investigating under tufts of grass, poking her head into little holes in the earth; the holes looked like she’d made them herself earlier, fitting her head. Mayflies rose and fell over the water, some of them mating. The water itself sparkled in the sun, and kept up a constant chatter as it flowed over the rocks on its bed.

And the knowledge crept up on me: that I love being in nature, find it soothing, calming and connecting, not because it’s more beautiful, or more ‘authentic’, or better than obviously human environments, but because it doesn’t ask anything of me: it simply is.

It was a startling realisation – as obvious as it probably should have been – one I’m going to be exploring for a long while to come.

On the one hand, yes, of course: I am able to relax and connect because, being in the presence of Being, I myself am able to Be. This is valuable information, and will help me to look after myself better in future.

On the other hand, oh dear: does this mean I see the human world and human beings as inevitably hostile, making demands on me simply by existing? And does that imply that I see every interaction with my fellow humans – including simply walking through a built environment – as a power struggle?

There’s a lot there for me think on.

But right now, I’m simply grateful to the bumble bee, and the mayflies, and the water, for their Being, in which I saw a new facet of myself reflected.

Previous Post

June 13, 2013

The Sacred Springs of South West England

Next Post

June 17, 2013 Review: Thinking Wild

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Africa Amazon Ancestors Animism Austin Boots Across Ireland Boston boundary crossing Bretagne Children Cities Community Connection Culture Detroit Druidry Earth Edinburgh Elements England Eskdalemuir Eugene experiential family Fiction Florida folklore France Glasgow Heathenry home how to build it Human Spaces imaginary landscapes Introduction Ireland Journeys Know your wild herbs Land Spirits London Maine memory lane Naturalizing Nature's Metaphors New York Poetry Remembering Ancestors Sacred Spaces San Francisco Scotland Seasons Seattle Tanzania Technology Texas the South Theory Top 10 traditions Travel Uncategorized United States video Water West Virginia Witchcraft Worlding

Select a Month August 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many clean animal pairs were in Noah's Ark?

Select your answer to see how you score.

7 5 6 3