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, July 11, 2012

When we walk on the earth with reverence, beauty will decide to trust us.


"There is an uncanny symmetry between the inner and the outer world . . . Each of us is responsible for HOW we see, and how we see determines WHAT we see . . . We have often heard that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  This is usually taken to mean that the sense of beauty is utterly subjective; there is no accounting for taste because each person's taste is different.  The statement has another, more subtle meaning: if our style of looking becomes beautiful, then beauty will become visible and shine forth for us. . . . When we beautify our gaze, the grace of hidden beauty becomes our joy and our sanctuary . . . [W]hat you encounter, recognize or discover depends to a large degree on the quality of your approach . . . When we approach with reverence, great things decide to approach us.  Our real life comes to the surface and its light awakens the concealed beauty in things.  When we walk on the earth with reverence, beauty will decide to trust us."

John O'Donohue

Photo: Rosy Paintbrush blooming on the trail up Paintbrush Divide; Grand Teton National Park, WY; July 5, 2012

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