Religious naturalists bear an attitude of reverence toward the universe as a whole, and toward the earth in particular – and they are disposed to expressing their reverence by affirming that nature is both sacred and mysterious. Naturalists are keenly aware of the contingency of all life forms, and when this awareness is taken to heart it generates a sense of gratitude toward nature.
~ Loyal Rue
When timeless moments solicit you, accept the invitation. Go deep within it, until you find yourself in your absence.
~ Jean Klein
Words act as a compass. Place speech serves literally to enchant the land; to sing it back into being and to sing one’s being back into it.
~ Robert Macfarlane
We can speak without voice to the trees and the clouds and the waves of the sea. Without words they respond through the rustling of leaves and the moving of clouds and the murmuring of the sea.
~ Paul Tillich
The Oak tree is one of the most loved trees in the world, and with good reason. It’s a symbol of strength, morale, resistance and knowledge. Throughout history, the Oak has been represented in different mythologies and sometimes linked to powerful gods (in Greek mythology it was a symbol of Zeus, the God of Thunder.) The oak is considered a cosmic storehouse of wisdom embodied in its towering strength. It grows slowly, but surely at its own rate. Oak is often associated with honor, nobility, and wisdom as well thanks to its size and longevity. Oaks are known to easily surpass 300 years of age making it a powerful life-affirming symbol.
~ from the Bios Urn website
What year is it in your imagination?
~ Lynda Barry
I looked over at my neighbor, the song sparrow, and thought about how just a few years ago, I wouldn’t have known its name, might not have even known it was a sparrow, might not have even seen it at all. How lonely that world seemed in comparison to this one! But the sparrow and I were no longer strangers. It was no stretch of the imagination, nor even of science, to think that we were related. We were both from the same place (Earth), made of the same stuff. And most important, we were both alive.
~ Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing
Self-care is never a selfish act – it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others. Anytime we can listen to true self and give the care it requires, we do it not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives we touch.
~ Parker J. Palmer
This is the only advice I offer you. Pick the small thing, and carry it on. Let it change your life.
~ Anna White, Mended
