Gifts of Scenery - Justice Le Tran Alexander

When I think of my encounter's with religion, spirituality, and moments of fellowship in natural places, I keep coming back to the same idea that it is worth noting what happens when we step outside ourselves long enough to actually see what's in front of us. Redick touches on this in his story about his class he was with when they came across a fawn. He writes, "The class quickly gathered round the fawn and for about a minute we silently gazed at this wonder. We then continued up the slope, a hush falling over the group.” There's something special or even sacred about that stillness you feel when in eco-spaces or within yourself, culminating in an understanding that wilderness too often relies on our labels or expectations of what it should be when it is meaningfully derived from that which cannot be explained in words or expressions. Animal behavior is instinctive, but I feel that in the moment with the fawn, it wasn't just about its feeble nature or doughiness, but about connecting. When we let go of what we think an experience should be, we start to notice the zone that puts us in; the subtle undertones which guide all the life around us. The rhythms which remind us that we are sharing this consciousness with everything and everyone around us.

I find this line of thinking advantageous when trying to find avenues to peace.

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