Todays blog is four quotes from Karen Armstrong, Sacred Nature: Restoring Our Ancient Bond with the Natural World, Alfred A. Knopf, 2022. Hopefully, something quiet in the midst of our chaotic and worrisome world.
“If we allow it to enter our lives, nature can inform our minds and become a formative influence. We can begin by taking simple steps perhaps sitting in a garden or a park for ten minutes a day without headphones or a mobile phone, simply registering the sights and sounds of nature. Instead of taking photographs of our surroundings, we should look at the birds, flowers, clouds and trees and let them impress themselves on our minds . . . If we develop a mind that ‘watches and receives’ and discover the fluidity of our natural environment, we may be able to recover some of our ancestors’ vision of a sacred nature, p 52”
“In a censorious and unforgiving world, we need compassion—the ability to feel with all others, whether we like them or agree with them or not—more urgently than ever, p 135”
“The Buddha’s prayer, “Let all beings be happy,” noting that it is not addressed to a deity but to ourselves; it is asking us to expend our compassion and sympathy to all others without exception. . . We should remember that the Buddha achieved enlightenment not by polishing his soul, but by directing expensive feelings of love to every being in the world. We may not reach Nirvana, but the spirit of this prayer is within our capacity and essential for the well-being of the world, p 160”
We have seen how nature was revered by the great sages, mystics and prophets of the past. It is now up to us to revive that knowledge and commitment and recover our bond with the natural world. p 172
Thank You for reading, JoAnnLordahl.com
[My apologies: Reading, Writing currently consumes most of my dwindling energy.]
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