What is Sacred to You?

What is Sacred to You?

This essay is an excerpt from my recently published book, Paddlin’ with Thoreau…Reflections from the Red Kayak

“All wisdom is the reward of a discipline, conscious

or unconscious…Cultivate reverence.”

-Henry David Thoreau, Journal, September 5, 1851, age 34

Two days before this journal entry, Thoreau writes about walking in drizzly weather. He notes that small weeds look more beautiful than ever, covered in rain drops. “They are equally beautiful when covered with dew, fresh and adorned, almost spirited away, in a robe of dewdrops.”

The words he uses in the quote – adorned, spirited, robe – have a spiritual dimension to them.  His journal entries around this time point us in a more reverent direction. He writes about how “our moments of inspiration are not lost” even if we don’t write them down, as they “have left an indelible impression…”

He touches on the inherent sacredness in nature writing, “To devote your life to the discovery of the divinity in nature…” I feel a gentleness in his writing at this time, shining a holy light on nature.

His two simple words, “cultivate reverence” speak volumes for a healthy prescription for how to live our lives in every way.

I love to kayak on Sunday mornings. Every other day, I am enveloped in silence on the river, but Sunday mornings have a deeper quiet about them. A reverent stillness. Even dipping my paddle in the water creates a noisy disruption to the tranquility that embraces me.

On Sunday mornings, I attend church on the river, sitting in the pew of my little red kayak.  All of nature is in a peaceful mood, providing the perfect backdrop to cultivate reverence. As Henry scribed in his letter about mountains to H.G.O. Blake, “I suppose that I feel the same awe when on their summits that many do on entering a church.”⁴ I feel that sense of awe today.

My Sunday morning service on the water transcends the boundaries of church walls and religion. The fluidity of the river guides me in a stream of consciousness that is meditative and prayerful. The morning sun, breaking through the natural statues of the forest green pine trees, connects me to a radiant light as its golden rays meet the tip of my boat. A peacefulness wafts over me, like the sweet aroma of the flora growing along the riverbank. My senses are heightened by the sacredness of worship in nature.

I personalized the essay title, “What is Sacred to You?” because sacredness is different for each one of us. For some it is family, for some it is time alone, for others it may be living your life with meaningful purpose or serving a greater good.

Whatever it may be, I know one thing for sure. We protect and cherish what is sacred to us. We hold it tenderly, its fragile existence sitting precariously in our trembling hands. Our entire being shivers, feeling the ripples of profound responsibility to care for our delicate treasure.

When our children cry out in pain, when we ourselves are hurting, when our meaningful purpose is in trouble, we care for their distress. We take immediate action, hoping to minimize or eliminate long-term impacts.

I also know something else for sure. We love what is sacred to us. We love it so much we are willing to make huge sacrifices to ensure its safety and protection. We would do anything, including giving our own lives for it. Sunday morning kayaking enhances this sacred perspective.

As I paddle near the canary yellow lilies, quietly giving voice along the river’s edge, I think of Henry’s quote, “Dandelions, perhaps the first yesterday. This flower makes a great show, – a sun itself in the grass.” He revered a flower most of us consider a weed, seeing it as a sun in the grass. I, too, admire my “shoreline dandelions” reminding me of the importance of respecting and caring for the sacredness of all life.

We all have our individual sacred things. And we also have many voices and live on common ground. Earth. We all have this sacred gift of creation to look after.

All of nature, our natural endowment, has a voice. Right now, that voice is screaming for attention. Increases in extreme weather, wildfires, floods, damaging winds, droughts and sea level rise to name a few, are an urgent alert that we are heading down an irreverent path. She needs us now to tend to her as deeply as we do for all we love and deem sacred.

How do we begin? Stewardship of our natural resources begins within each one of us. When we gently tend to ourselves, we realize how much our own self-care benefits those around us. It radiates into every aspect of our lives. We change in a healthy way, and in turn we change our environment. And that includes all of nature. When we love ourselves, we reestablish a vital link with others and nature. We fall in love with our earthly home again. We cultivate reverence from within and it manifests outwardly by showing a deep respect for what we value.

And on this day, April 8, 2024, we witnessed the eclipse across America. The images of that amazing sight brought me to tears. The words from those who were there touched me deeply. Many referred to the experience as “spiritual, magical, once in a lifetime.” But the majority of the comments went like this: “It made me feel so very connected to something beyond myself.” “It made me realize that we are all more alike than different.” “It made me understand how important it is to take care of our planet earth. We are all spinning around in this vast universe together.” Such deeply penetrating thoughts during a 4-minute encounter with the sacredness of the alignment of Earth, moon and sun.

In 1987, John Hay, wrote The Immortal Wilderness. Of all his deep reflections, these seven words were all I needed to read. He wrote, “When nothing is safe, nothing is sacred.” Written 36 years ago, it is a profound statement, unfortunately still true today.

Let us make the necessary internal changes to love and treasure each other and our earth to feel safe again. So we will hold our precious life tenderly in our trembling hands. We are not perfect, but if we take our individual steps towards sacredness, collectively we will cultivate a reverence for everything.

In the words of Henry, “Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”

We must walk this way as if our lives depend on it. Because it does.

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What one thing can you do today, to walk with love and reverence? What is sacred to you?

Whose life can you tenderly touch today with precious care? Yours or someone else’s?

How can you, every day, cultivate this path of reverence?

Eclipse photos by Josette Songco from Indianapolis, Indiana.