I cannot begin to describe the joys of this summer, working in the Appalachians at Camp Glen Arden for Girls, the place that ignited my love for nature as a child. I returned after a six year hiatus, and my soul breathed a sigh of nostalgic pleasure the moment I rounded the bend into the mountain hollow. Taking girls into the woods, teaching them wilderness skills, playing with them in the vegetable garden, and immersing myself in the timeless rhythms of camp--it was all a balm to my soul. It was the perfect way to transition from Sicily to Divinity School. In those woods, solace and prayer seem as natural as breathing. I could write pages and pages about my inspiration and time there, but there is a sacredness about camp--an intimate privacy--that I feel should be kept from technological access. The magic of the place needs to be set apart from the outside world to retain its shimmer. So, instead, I will share with you some readings I meditated on this summer that spoke to me profoundly, in hopes that they will speak to you as well.
I am bound to praise the simple life, because I have lived it and found it good. When I depart from it, evil results follow. I love a small house, plain clothes, simple living. Many persons know the luxury of a skin bath--a plunge in the pool or the wave unhampered by clothing. That is the simple life--direct and immediate contact with things, life with the false wrappings torn away--the fine house, the fine equipage, the expensive habits, all cut off. How free one feels, how good the elements taste, how close one gets to them, how they fit one's body and one's soul! To see the fire that warms you, or better yet, to cut the wood that feeds the fire that warms you; to see the spring where the water bubbles up that slakes your thirst, and to dip your pail into it; to see the beams that are the stay of your four walls, and the timbers that uphold the roof that shelters you; to be in direct and personal contact with the sources of your material life; to want no extras, no shields; to find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to find a quest of wild berries more satisfying than a gift of tropic fruit; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest, or over a wild flower in spring--these are some of the rewards of a simple life.
-John Burroughs
-John Burroughs
Deep peace of the running wave to you,
of water flowing, rising and falling,
sometimes advancing, sometimes receding…
May the stream of your life flow unimpeded!
Deep peace of the running wave to you!
Deep peace of the flowing air to you,
which fans your face on a sultry day
the air which you breathe deeply, rhythmically,
which imparts to you energy, consciousness, life.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you!
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
who, herself unmoving, harbours the movements
and facilitates the life of the ten thousand creatures,
while resting contented, stable, tranquil.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you!
Deep peace of the shining stars to you,
which stay invisible till darkness falls
and discloses their pure and shining presence
beaming down in compassion on our turning world.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you!
Deep peace of the watching shepherds to you,
of unpretentious fold who, watching and waiting,
spend long hours out on the hillside,
expecting in simplicity some Coming of the Lord.
Deep peace of the watching shepherds to you!
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you,
who, swift as the wave and pervasive as the air,
quiet as the earth and shining like a star,
breathes into us His Peace and His Spirit.
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you!
-Adapted from the Gaelic, by Mary Rogers
of water flowing, rising and falling,
sometimes advancing, sometimes receding…
May the stream of your life flow unimpeded!
Deep peace of the running wave to you!
Deep peace of the flowing air to you,
which fans your face on a sultry day
the air which you breathe deeply, rhythmically,
which imparts to you energy, consciousness, life.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you!
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
who, herself unmoving, harbours the movements
and facilitates the life of the ten thousand creatures,
while resting contented, stable, tranquil.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you!
Deep peace of the shining stars to you,
which stay invisible till darkness falls
and discloses their pure and shining presence
beaming down in compassion on our turning world.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you!
Deep peace of the watching shepherds to you,
of unpretentious fold who, watching and waiting,
spend long hours out on the hillside,
expecting in simplicity some Coming of the Lord.
Deep peace of the watching shepherds to you!
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you,
who, swift as the wave and pervasive as the air,
quiet as the earth and shining like a star,
breathes into us His Peace and His Spirit.
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you!
-Adapted from the Gaelic, by Mary Rogers
And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long,
but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyful,
by which we arrive at the ground at our feet, and learn to be at home.
-Wendell Berry
but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyful,
by which we arrive at the ground at our feet, and learn to be at home.
-Wendell Berry