God's Nature

Something in nature compels me. It must be God. It’s His nature to compel. When I am anywhere in the midst of the natural beauty in this world, I breathe deep breaths that cause my muscles to unclench and my mind to free itself. I know this is not a new discovery, but for me, it is a miracle.

A few years ago, I was suffering with panic attacks. I was actually having them while I slept. That was the year we went to Yosemite. And it is that experience I’m referring to when I say that camping saved my life. I don’t know how I blew past so much during my life, but I am so happy now to be fully awake to it. I have for so long pined to travel to other countries. I’ve had several friends this summer travel to Europe. One went to Spain, the other Ireland. We went to Big Sur. Big deal. Yes, it was. In the middle of it, I lost all envy for the European travelers, because I too was in the beauty of God’s very nature. I was speechless standing in fields of wildflowers overlooking the dramatic jagged coast. I could sit for hours staring into the eternity of the ocean, its size somehow larger there. I awoke every morning tucked inside a forest of redwoods. Peace settled in my heart and I experienced a stillness that I find impossible in my daily life. I cry out to God. I can’t hear Him. I pray and my mind wanders. After a week of observing Him in His very essence, I am still. My mind, clear.