Natural Awe

Believe it or not I think about spirituality a lot; I spend a great deal of time each day just thinking. You see I am a truck driver by profession and much of my day is spent just holding the steering wheel and pondering. Last week I was driving down I-5 through a rural area in the late afternoon; the sun was low in the sky and the colors just hit me. For a moment I was in awe of the play between light and shadow; how the leaves of the trees were an infinite array of shades. This moment lasted perhaps only a few seconds in real time but, I felt different for the rest of the day. I have had this experience a thousand times over the last 20 years, since I became a Pagan. Light is one of the most incredible forces in the universe both scientifically and spiritually. I don't think I am special in my ability to see, my eyes are not better than the average, I have no great talent. What I do posses is a willingness to be awed by natural phenomenon; light reflecting on water or air on my skin. It is difficult to be unguarded today, to be open to experience when it comes calling. When I was a child I had no fear of experience; I am constantly reminded that I would walk right into the ocean and disappear under the water. My family became so concerned about me that they tied a clothes line to my diaper so I could not wander into danger. Though I cannot pretend that life didn't knock me around or that I kept that fearlessness into adolescence, I did recover some of it as an adult. Spirituality at it's core is about experience or perhaps more people would agree with the word transcendence. We are trying to ignore the mundane or transcend it to get in touch with the higher realms, right? No I don't think so, we are all capable of seeing transcendence within this world by seeing in a different way. I don't mean to imply that there is no spirit world or land of the dead; that this physical world is the only real one. What I am trying to say is that the natural world has many layers of reality to it; that we can allow ourselves to see more. In my view spirituality is the search for meaning in the mundane, for a new way to see and understand our lives. Paganism has given me the courage and skills to allow myself to be open and unguarded again as an adult. When was the last time you allowed yourself to be open to experience is this way? Open yourselves to experience and I know you will find your life more filled with meaning and joy.