Sacredness of Quietude

An intuitive relationship between the natural world and ourselves evokes the desire to create within me. As a child, I would spend entire days, unaware of time passing, just observing the minutiae of nature or quietly daydreaming in the nook of a tree or behind the stone wall. Children naturally find and create secret places to hide: building forts outside, nests in a closet, or simply throwing a blanket over a table, seeking quietude and safety.
“…I live in great density…
Shelter lures me. I slump down into the thick foliage.
…In the forest, I am my entire self.
Everything is possible in my heart just as it is in the hiding places in ravines.”
-Rene Menard, Le Livre des Arbres, 1956
Our western culture’s harried pace, dictated by the ticking clock, blinds us to the peaceful rhythms of the natural world. Experiences I’ve had with Native American friends and their peaceful understanding of our place in Nature remind me of the dreaming of childhood.