As a child, I answered Nature’s beckoning call by spending countless hours roaming and exploring her diverse beauty in her field and wooded classrooms. Beside her streams, on top of her mountains, and in the boughs of her trees she whispered loving words to me. It was here, cradled in her majesty, that I felt peace, belonging, and loved by God.
Particularly fascinated by her tiny world, I would thoughtfully examine blades of grass, rocks along stream beds, and the intricacies of flower petals, as if searching for clues to my own existence. It was through the language of nature that I learned some of the most far reaching and foundational lessons of my life. Hidden, camouflaged beneath leaves and logs, I discovered three core truths:
1. Vulnerability is not weakness.
2. Respect for each individual’s purpose creates community.
3. Acceptance leads to peace.
When I was in nature I felt the overpowering sense of peace and respect among its inhabitants. Every creature seemed to understand its purpose, and accepted its place in relationship to the whole.
As a child it was through my conversation with nature that I learned
it was okay to be me.
Adapted from The Butterfly Knight, 2014 (available on Amazon)