Yesterday I gave a Sunday morning talk - and a workshop afterwards - at a church in downtown Denver. The topic was "The Ecstatic Nature Mysticism of John Muir." I think that the thing people resonated with the most was Muir's exuberant passion for wilderness beauty, and his ability to make use of the negative aspects of his childhood by turning them into something beneficial and positive. For example, he took the regular beatings he received from his father and turned them into a steely self-discipline that enabled him to consider 25 miles a moderate dayhike, and to perform solo mountain climbs - without technical equipment - that modern climbers still marvel at.
One of the major insights for me during our discussion of Muir's take on
city life was the fact that there are some experiences - which
correspond to important aspects of the inner life - that can only be had
in the wilds. One is that of a dark, starry nighttime sky, which
corresponds to the intimacy of the Divine embrace experienced during
contemplative prayer. Another is the rich silence of wild country,
which serves as an external embodiment of the reality of Divine bliss, a
sort of cosmic "afterglow" out of which all things and all creatures
are continually emerging. Still another aspect is the vast open spaces
of the wilderness that correspond to the expansive quality of Divine
awareness, a reality that is embodied during meditation.
As we discussed, cities do indeed contain elements of Nature, like beautiful downtown parks, apartment gardens, and the treated mountain water that flows through our blood (especially here in our Colorado cities). One workshop participant brought up the fact that a population living spread out across the landscape (rather than concentrated in cities) would be an unsustainable practice. For me, the solution is to live at the edge of a small city and at the same time make a regular practice of frequenting the wilderness areas nearby. Driving a car that gets around 45 m.p.g. helps me cut down on the resulting greenhouse gas emissions, even though the lack of 4WD capacity on my vehicle means that there are some wild areas I can't access. In any case, this is my particular way of combining city life with regular time spent in the wilds.
Photo: Globeflowers, with Sugarloaf Mountain in the background; Snowy Range, Medicine Bow National Forest, WY; July 2, 2014
As we discussed, cities do indeed contain elements of Nature, like beautiful downtown parks, apartment gardens, and the treated mountain water that flows through our blood (especially here in our Colorado cities). One workshop participant brought up the fact that a population living spread out across the landscape (rather than concentrated in cities) would be an unsustainable practice. For me, the solution is to live at the edge of a small city and at the same time make a regular practice of frequenting the wilderness areas nearby. Driving a car that gets around 45 m.p.g. helps me cut down on the resulting greenhouse gas emissions, even though the lack of 4WD capacity on my vehicle means that there are some wild areas I can't access. In any case, this is my particular way of combining city life with regular time spent in the wilds.
Photo: Globeflowers, with Sugarloaf Mountain in the background; Snowy Range, Medicine Bow National Forest, WY; July 2, 2014
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