Day 13 - The Wonder of It All

"Dragons will wander about the waste places, 

and the phoenix will soar from her nest of fire into the air.  

We shall lay our hands upon the Basilisk, and see the jewel in the toad's head. 

Champing his gilded oats, the hippogriff will stand in our stalls,

and over our heads will float the bluebird,singing of beautiful and impossible things, 

of things that are lovely and that never happened, of things that are not and that should be."

Oscar Wilde

As I was reading tonight from The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning he said something very true.  He said that as adults, having "grown up" we no longer take the time to really see the glory of creation. Do you remember summer nights, crickets chirping, sounds in the night, we'd go outside with a mason jar in one hand and a flashlight in the other, waiting for the fireflies to come alive.  I remember chasing after the fireflies, or lightning bugs, as we called them, and catching them in my jar, slapping the lid on quickly before it flew out.  I'd have holes punched in the top for air so they wouldn't die.  Usually I'd catch them, and after studying them awhile, marveling at the wonder of it all, I'd let them go and stand quietly watching them flit and fly up, up, until they were out of sight.  They would literally light up the sky.

Brennan goes on to say "We get so preoccupied with ourselves, the words we speak, the plans and projects we conceive that we become immune to the glory of creation. We barely notice the cloud passing over the moon or the dewdrops clinging to the rose leaves. The ice on the pond comes and goes. The wild blackberries ripen and wither. The blackbird nests outside our bedroom window.  We don't see her. We avoid the cold and the heat. We refrigerate ourselves in summer and entomb ourselves in plastic in winter. We rake up every leaf as fast as it falls. We are so accustomed to buying prepackaged meats and fish and fowl in supermarkets we never think and blink about the bounty of God's creation. We grow complacent and lead practical lives. We miss the experience of awe, reverence, and wonder!" 

Clearly he speaks the truth.  Children no longer play outside in the woods on a Sunday afternoon after church.  Or set off on mysterious adventures, daring to go deep into the forest along the forbidden path that leads to the railroad tracks where hobos watch and wait for the next train.  I could spend literally hours lying on "the big rock" in my grandparents woods reading stories of Camelot and Shangra-La. Or climbing trees, riding them down, taming my wild stallion in the breeze. Raking leaves, then rolling down the bank into the huge pile, sending them flying, then raking them up all over again. Such great fun!

I never missed a moment of experiencing creation, the beauty and mystery of nature.  The man in the moon, the babble of the brook, the night sounds and voices.  Today walking in the woods is still as magical for me as it was back when I was a child.  Here in New Mexico there is so much beauty to see and appreciate.  I know there's plenty to see in other parts of the country that fascinates and calls to memory childhood and wonder.  I thank God for the creative mind He has given me, and for His marvelous canvas of creation painted in all the colors of the rainbow, seascapes and lofty, mountain pines. Such perfect artistry.

As I ready myself for bed to rest from my cares of this day, I reflect on my tomorrows, I dream of places yet to see and wonder yet to behold.