See and Hear the Beauty

Sometimes the world looks beautiful to us, sometimes it seems horribly broken. The same friend who loves you hurts you. The same dog who consoles you bites. We can complain but it doesn't change anything. And having feelings is real and honest. But the negative feelings or facts don't have to take over. They can be just part of the story. 
Listen to this episode for a way to see the beauty when the ugly has shown up. Find the sacred in the ordinary. 
This archive episode is from 2022. 

Transcript

The pleasant sound of a trickle of water caught my attention. The water was rolling over some rocks in the creek. I noticed it strolling up the street on my usual walk with the dog. We were atop the culvert that goes over the creek.

I heard the gentle sound, and I could see the slabs of limestone that lay under all my neighborhood, forming the bed of the creek under the running water. Along with the water sounds there were Robin, Finch and other birdsongs. Their pleasant tweets filled the backdrop for a moment to be captured. I thought to myself, “this would be a nice video,” or at least it's a nice memory. 

On we went and the dog did her usual sniffing and galloping and all that sort of thing through the neighborhood. To return home we came back down the same street and crossed the same spot. The water was still running the pleasant trickle across the rocks, and it still was a nice day, but I heard no pleasant birds singing. Instead, there were some crows cawing their grating noise. And there was a sound of a jet plane going overhead. Now the same scene that had been so pastoral and peaceful before wasn't really peaceful at all. It seemed wrong that things could be so delicate and calming just a few minutes earlier in the same spot and then unpleasant a few minutes later.

Life is like this, isn’t it? There are times when we experience something really nice, and we just want it to last. We'd like to capture the moment and make it stay. We may even take a video, but the video never fully replicates the experience.  

We don't like the unpleasant and want to avoid it. And we want pleasant things to last and stick around.

But neither the good or bad things last, they come and go. 

Pleasant and unpleasant are in things at work, in relationships, and in life. 

And there are times when we do something again, that is like the old thing, but the sounds, feeling, and the mood is different. Like leftover food from a holiday, it's not so great the second, or third time.

As for the hard things, it’s a struggle to deal with them, and we work to avoid them. “If I act like it’s not there, will it go away?” There are things that we think that we can't possibly get through, and if it is not fatal, then we do get through them. Both the good and bad things don’t last, they come and go.

Would you like to be more content with whatever is happening and to live through it with eyes open? It is a more honest way to live. 

Try this exercise with me: Imagine yourself on a walk or actually take a walk outside and observe. Notice your feet feel landing each step you take. How is the walk? Is the surface smooth or rough Are you cool or warm? Look around and see creation and notice how it speaks to you. This not the same thing as a walk with your earbuds in listening to something. Listen to the actual sounds of nature, and look at the rocks, trees, plants, flowers, and smell the smells.  Notice creatures large and small. Then you are part of nature when you do that. The great thing is: you don't have to see it all. You won’t experience the same things I would if I went. Perhaps some small or large thing captures your attention. Then just look at it, smell it, see it, and touch it to take it in. What does it speak to you? And however long you have to give to your real or imaginary walks or nature is okay. Enjoy and don't try to rush.

Psalm 143:5 in the NIV says, “I remember the days of long ago. I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.” Where does that scripture challenge you or comfort you? As I read it again notice what it stands out for you. Notice what it says to you. “I remember the days of long ago I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.”

When you put together this passage from the Psalms and the idea of a walk in the woods, we can have a sacred connection to ourselves, to nature, and to the creator of all things by taking time to be in the moment.