Nature and God Are One and the Same
March 20, 2011
Nature, in its wild and undisturbed state, is where I am most at peace and closest to my spiritual center. For me, nature and God are one and the same.
Nature was integral to my childhood. I was fortunate to grow up in a home on the edge of forested park land, despite living just a stone’s throw from Washington, D.C. A small creek ran along the edge of my backyard and fed into a larger creek just 100 yards away. I spent hours and hours playing in and alongside those creeks. From my back deck I regularly saw owls, woodpeckers, songbirds, and warblers, as well as a variety of other creatures, including raccoons, deer, foxes, turtles, and snakes.
When my family vacationed, my parents took us to nature preserves and bird sanctuaries. More than once I sat in the car in protest, but usually I went along. We often vacationed along the Outer Banks, where we were taught the names of all the shore birds. When I was twelve we traveled to Florida, and rather than visit Disney World, my parents opted to visit a mangrove forest where we could see alligators in the wild. We regularly visited the Blue Ridge Mountains and took drives out into the “country.”
Those experiences shaped who I am today and are at the heart of my desire to protect the planet. Those experiences taught me to respect and appreciate the beauty and interdependent qualities of nature. My experiences in nature, both small and grand, resonate deep within my soul and provide the foundation upon which I have built my own individual and personal faith. It’s hard to articulate the response I have to nature, but I can tell you that it is both physical and emotional. I am at the same time equally energized by it and calmed by it. I hear friends and acquaintances talk about the security and serenity their faith in God provides for them. Nature provides those same benefits to me.
It’s not surprising that when I had my own children I wanted to provide similar experiences for them as I had as a child. I wasn’t prepared for how difficult that would be.
My children are growing up with computers, cell phones, iPods, and video games, distractions that I didn’t have growing up. And despite my attempts to limit their time with technology, there is no question that these devices have reduced the amount of time my children spend outside. Their exposure to nature is limited not only by the development surrounding our suburban home, but also by the fact that it is no longer the cultural norm for a child to spend an entire day playing outside.
I have to make a conscious effort to expose my children to nature. And they are not always as interested as I want them to be. But I do it anyway.
I believe that if we are to become a sustainable community, and a sustainable nation, we must expose our children to nature. We must expose ALL children to nature.
I believe children need to experience first hand
- the joy of a waterfall,
- the layered beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains,
- the power of an ocean wave, and
- the sounds of a forest alive with birds.
I believe children need to
- explore a creek,
- walk through woods,
- scramble over rocks, and
- experience, up close, bugs, birds, and plants.
And when they do, the passion to protect nature will seed, take root, and grow in their hearts...as it has in mine.
And for some, it may become not only their passion, but their religion.
