Welcome! I am a contemplative thinker and photographer from Colorado. In this blog, you'll discover photographs that I've taken on my hiking and backpacking trips, mostly in the American West. I've paired these with my favorite inspirational and philosophical quotes - literary passages that emphasize the innate spirituality of the natural world. I hope you enjoy them!

If you'd like to purchase photo-quote greeting cards, please go to www.NaturePhoto-QuoteCards.com .


In the Spirit of Wildness,

Stephen Hatch
Fort Collins, Colorado

P.S. There's a label index at the bottom of the blog.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

You are not a single "you," but a Sky and an Ocean, a nine hundred times huge drowning place for all of your hundreds of you's


"You came from Non-existence into being.  How did that happen?  Tell me about it!  You were a little drunk when you arrived, so you can't remember exactly? I'll give you some hints.  Let your mind go, and be mindful.  Close your ears, and listen.  But maybe I shouldn't tell, if you're not ripe.  You're still in early Spring.  July hasn't happened yet in you. This world is a tree, and we are green, half-ripe fruit on it.  We hold tight to the limbs, because we know we're not ready to be taken into the palace.  When we mature and sweeten, we'll feel ashamed at having clung so clingingly.  To hold fast is a sure sign of unripeness . . . More needs to be said on this, but the Holy Spirit will tell it to you when I'm not here . . . You are not a single You, good Friend, you are a Sky and an Ocean, a tremendous YHUUUUUU, a nine hundred times huge drowning place for all your hundreds of you's.  What are these terms 'wakefulness' and 'sleep'?  Don't answer.  Let God answer.  Don't speak, so the Speakers can.  Not a word, so Sun-Light can say what has never been in a book, or said.  Don't try to put it into words, and the Spirit will do that through you, in spite of you, beside you, among you."

Jelaluddin Rumi

Photo: Gold Bluffs Beach at sunset, Redwood National Park, CA, August 2, 2011


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