"It would imply the regeneration of mankind, if they were to become elevated enough to truly worship stocks and stones . . . If he who makes two blades of grass grow where one grew before is a benefactor, he who discovers two gods where there was only known the one (and such a one!) before is a still greater benefactor. I would gladly improve every opportunity to wonder and worship, as a sunflower welcomes the light. The more thrilling, wonderful divine objects I behold in a day, the more expanded and immortal I become. If a stone appeals to me and elevates me, . . . it is a matter of private rejoicing. If it did the same service to all, it might well be a matter of public rejoicing."
Henry David Thoreau, 1856
Photo: Engelmann Spruce tree and lichen-covered rocks at Vedauwoo Recreation Area, Medicine Bow National Forest, WY; November 3, 2012. Thoreau, like his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson, would not disagree that all of these various "gods" or deities are expressions of a single divine Reality.
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