Reflections on Keeping a Nature Journal
By Jan Blencowe
Posted on
Keeping a nature journal is a quest to find, through art and nature, a kinship with the universal and the Divine. When sitting quietly in the woods, I am learning to discover all the mysteries and lessons nature has to teach. I am finding my place in the universe and recognizing universal principles and patterns of life. My observations help me to come to terms with life and death. They help me find meaning.
The more time I spend in nature, the more comfortable I am in this world. Each day I see more clearly the fingerprints of God and hear whispering echoes of the spiritual world. I become more certain of the things unseen by closely observing the seen.
I wonder in silence at the beauty, diversity and order of the cycles of the seasons. I am struck by the certainty with which animals migrate and plants know seed time and harvest. A deep respect for life emerges. Everything is alive, and God is in everything.
In nature I'm learning to see the immediate. The profound intricacies, complexities, beauty and connectedness of nature teach me where I belong. I see that I am one of many living things. We each play a part, none are insignificant. I am not insignificant.
It is through contemplation, observation, drawing and painting nature that I am able to engage the journey into the mystery of the relationship between the Divine, ourselves and our world.
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