Elemental
Connections
“And
I think that connecting to the elemental can be a way of coming into rhythm
with the universe. And I do think that there is a way in which the outer
presence, even through memory or imagination, can be brought inward as a
sustaining thing.”
John
O’Donohue (“The Inner Landscape of Beauty” On-Being interview with Krista
Tippett, February 28, 2008)
In one
of his last interviews, John O’Donohue spoke with On Being’s Krista Tippett
about the importance of landscape, both inner and outer, in shaping a person’s
approach to the world. About beauty being more than just a pretty view, but a
rounding and deepening of life itself.
People
are affected physically and mentally by the landscape surrounding them. Inner
city kids who grow up without much contact with the natural elements in their
environment are at risk for many social maladies. I remember trying to stand
upright in the wind tunnels created by tall buildings in New York when I lived
there. With all the gray and black and drab colors inside the poorer sections
of the city, it’s no surprise that people struggle. But I also remember little
kids playing in spewing fire hydrants in the heat of summer and know that
children will make the most of whatever they are given. The plasticity of our
brains, especially when we are young, sometimes helps us to rise above our
circumstances.
I think
of the kids’ chorus at New York’s Public School 22, and how involved they are
in singing. Watching their videos on Facebook is a treat for me. The loveliness of their faces and their rhythmic responses to the music, lifts
me up a thousand miles away. Sometimes I am moved to tears simply by their
beauty.
We can do the same thing
with our imaginations. It makes me smile inside just thinking about those kids,
for instance—it changes my mood. To imagine sitting on a beach in say…Bali…creates
a scene behind my eyes, that I can expand 360 degrees. In my mind, though I
have never been to Bali, I can take an imaginary journey there, sit on the
beach, feel the ocean breeze on my skin, smell the salty air, turn my face to the sun and simply
relax into the beauty. That has the same effect on my physiology as actually
going to Bali.
As O’Donohue said,
connecting to the elemental in our environment can be sustaining, even healing.
I don’t know where you live, but right now in Alabama, all the spring flowers
and trees are in bloom. Yesterday, I spoke with my friend Charlotte who lives
in Wisconsin. She said daffodils and tulips are poking through the soil in her
garden—spring is on the way. And we all know that spring is Mother Earth’s way
of dancing the light fandango, right! I hope you’ll go all elemental today.
Find some beauty to bask in.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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