"Oh! What are men compared to rocks and mountains!"

Although there's probably a thousand things I love about each day here in England, Fridays have to be my favorite! Every Friday, Angie, her husband Malcolm and their dog Nellie, take us on long nature walks. The city can look so grey and dirty that I actually forget how beautiful England is until we get out into the hills and moors. No wonder every classic English novel I've every read (2) takes 3 chapters to describe the setting. The countryside is like a whole different world to the one I know. Everyone says "hi" to one another. You can cut through private fields and farms to get to another path, and that practically takes you through some one's kitchen. I'm not sure the term for a thing like this; Trust? You can't trust anyone in the city. Last year one of the girls purses was stolen from right beside her feet while they sat in their living room. Apparently, someone slightly cracked the door open and reached their arm through. This would never happen in the country- on this continent or any other really. Yet, in the US it seems like we're particularly concerned with private property. God forbid your dog takes a whizz on someone elses lawn, you'll be slapped with a lawsuit so fast your head will spin. 
Not so here.



The English countryside is so beautiful. There's something so natural and freeing about walking where only a few go to wander. For me it's like a free therapy session. 

I step into the cool fresh air,

my lungs expand,

veins, once bursting with hot sticky blood,

become pools of clean flowing water.

Eyes closed,

sunlight  plays on my eyelids like a ballet,

soft shadowy figures floating like fall leaves,

dancing the dance of freedom.

I use the time to clear out some head space. Problems seem simpler somehow, the world  is still. I can't think with life's distractions- it's like I'm standing in a room, facing a hundred TV sets all playing different programs, and I have a bad case ADHD. It seems, we need nature just as much as nature needs us.

Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran wrote, "Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair." Donald Miller wrote about this in one of his books; Native Americans believe the spirit of God is in the wind and water. He thinks this is a beautiful thought, because then you can swim in Him... and feel His hand brush across your cheek... Even if you're not the spiritual type, you'd have to admit there is something sacred about nature. I've seen mountains so huge and imposing that my breath suddenly catches in my chest, until I have to consciously remember to breathe out again. I love the feeling of being stopped dead in your tracks by wonder. I see this in the kids all the time; In Islam they talk about the trees holding heavenly spirits, and the stars being angels in disguise. Even just being children, they gasp at the silliest things! I swear, the other day they saw a bird swallow a spider whole, and it was all they could talk about for 5 hours! 

So I'm lucky. Every Friday I walk, pray, and like a child witnessing a bird swallow a spider for the first time, stand amazed at God on earth. May you get back to nature. And may God speak a word of peace to you, "...in a way that sneaks in and subverts your current living until you find yourself coming to life with vivacity and freedom of movement, with the sparkling, flammable words dancing in your soul, 'I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive...' until tears spill down in belief (David Crowder, Praise Habit)."