Chosen Topic- Neptune Festival

In class we have looked and talked through images, books, journals, blog entries, etc. as a way to grasp the beauty and importance of sacred journeys and the communication people experience when immersed in nature. The most fascinating thing about it all is how differently people comprehend and process what is happening to them when they are hiking or spending extended amounts of time in nature. For some it is easier to just verbalize what they are going through, but for others, using poetry, journaling or blogging is a way to share with others what they experience when they are on these journeys. Out of this need to record and try to put words to what our minds, bodies and souls are going through a lot of incredible poetry has been produced!

Over the weekend I went to the Neptune Festival in Virginia Beach and came across an artist/poet who engraved his poems next to pictures of trees and flowers. One image and poem in particular stood out to me because right when I saw it I was reminded of my time on the Camino. It was an Image of a sunflower with the words “We should never overlook/ what it is/ that allows us to breathe so freely” underneath it. We spent a couple of days hiking through the meseta, next to fields of sunflowers, breathing freely because we were so separated from our mundane lives and so present with God, the only reason we are allowed to breathe so freely. It hit me in that moment how powerful poetry can be. That was something I hadn’t been able to put words to until I read his poem. I guess that can also speak to the communitas aspect of these journeys, whether you are currently on them or not, you can always find community with others who have experienced nature in this way.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Student Choice #1

This semester, I have found myself most Sunday afternoons feeling stuck. I don't want to use my mind and I don't want to move off my couch. Nothing seems to sink in past surface level and I would simply scroll through Facebook, not taking in any information but merely skimming. I heard someone once describe this feeling as the "fog of war." Battling with negativity, artificiality, and cynicism for too long leads to this lethargic state of in between, not giving up but not contributing, lukewarm in the truest sense of the word. I wonder if part of the solution to this "fog of war" is to simply be around something that is real. Something that is created. To feel the wind, even if it is bitter cold. To listen to a piece of music that is so beautiful or tragic that it brings tears to your eyes. To touch a tree or a blade of grass. To watch an ant crawl across the sidewalk. To see the sunset or to feel the rain fall. When I am surrounded by screens and walls and ...
Read more

Landscapes of the Sacred #2

In Landscapes of the Sacred, Ch. 10 discusses the tension between place and placelessness is Christian Spirituality. It discusses the two approaches to sacred place: kataphatic and apophatic.  Kataphatic rejoices in discerning the presence of God in the “thisness” of various places [place] while a pophatic: skeptical of an image’s ability to contain the mystery of the Holy [placelessness]. In one specific section, The Christian Imagination and a Theology of Place, Lane discusses how God is here, but not only here. He writes, “A theology of transcendance will never be comfortable with place.” He goes on to describe 5 “motifs by which the religious imagination is able to ‘create’ places or landscapes that become embodied means of experiencing the divine presence.” The first comes from John Calvin, he “spoke of the natural world as a theater full of wonders in which God’s glory becomes apparent..” The second is n ature as a ‘second book’ alongside scripture as a way to read the presen...
Read more

It All Begins With Praise - Phenomenology of Prayer

When talking about the elements of prayer, the author of The Phenomenology of Prayer claims that praise is where we need to start. Prayer is the "deepest decentering of the the self." Prayer should begin with adoration, acknowledging the power of the higher being. From the faith background in which I was raised, the idea of removing yourself from the center of the universe (humiliating yourself) and putting God at the center is how to live a spirit-filled life. Wholeheartedly yielding yourself to the Spirit is no easy feat, Galatians 5 explains that the desires of the flesh (personal projects) are against the desires of the Spirit (wholly other's projects). This ongoing struggle is the life of one who has faith in Jesus. The more time spent praising God in prayer, the more preoccupied one will become with God and submitting to his will, empowered by the Spirit, will then become our project.
Read more