Created and Erased

“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.” – John Burroughs

“A Sankara is an impression made on the mind by our experiences in the world. These impressions color the way we see reality and can cut us off from clear awareness. When we observe nature, we can see these impressions being created and erased. All is restored, refreshed, and made new when we practice.” – Matthew DeRubertis

We pray for knowing rather than patience;
To be understood rather than to understand;
The finish line rather than the start and middle;
Holding tight to our stories to define us and others;
The past and future rather than the present;
Certainty rather than mystery.

Nature pulls us out of ourselves to see the expanse, immensity and sheer beauty of place, the gift of creation. Get into nature to observe and absorb what is being created and erased, restored and refreshed. Journey within to follow suit, to clear a new path, to broaden perspective, to create and erase, restore and refresh. Deeper and longer.

Expand rather than contract;
Wait with joy;
Listen for understanding rather than response;
Be kind to self so you can extend it to others;
Create a new narrative;
Finish the story, rather than the story finishing you;
Paint colorful strokes on the blank canvas of the day;
Embrace the mystery of living fully in the present.

Created, erased, restored, refreshed. Made new.

“There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more.” – Lord Byron