I have not written in a while. After nearly 500 posts of poems , stories, essays etc, I feel like I may be just repeating myself. I am not a professional writer -as any professional writer would recognize right off- I just try to put to pen and paper whats on my mind. My day to day observations. I have been experiencing "writers block" I suppose. So, I just stayed away from the keyboard.
Many friends have asked where I've been. Some have asked when I'd post something again. Still others have told me how much they enjoyed reading the reports from the Chicken Ranch and how much they missed them. The words most often used to describe what is enjoyed by those who read the writings of this blog (and the previous Facebook page) are that "they are so peaceful." Peaceful. What is that really?
I sat on the back porch this morning watching the gentle breeze move limbs and leaves in a waltz of green and maroon. Shadows and light in a hypnotizing display played upon the trees and flower beds. The waterfall landed on the rocks and water below in the manor of a pianist touching each ivory key to play a soothing lullaby. Butterflies and a host of pollinators quietly buzzed from bloom to bloom in search of breakfast. Even the incessant tweeting of the wren and the squawk of the bluejay were welcome to my ears. The cardinals bragged on how "pretty" they were, while the quail calls for Bob White, who seems to be ever elusive. I took a sip from my mug of coffee and thought,"peace."
The first time I received recognition for my writing was many, many years ago when I was attending community college in Kentucky. My college professor assigned the class the task of writing an answer to the question (you guessed it) "what is peace?" My professor was impressed by my opinion and posted it for the school to read. I only remember part of the beginning of that paper from so long ago.
I asked the required question, then asked the lead questions, "Is peace the absence of war? Is it a lack of noise and distraction? Is it the solitude and tranquil surroundings of a natural vista? Is peace a product of our environment at all, or is it something we must produce in ourselves from deep within?" Today I believe that all these things are peace in a measure. And, I have learned over the years that peace is a nutritional requirement for the soul. It is a staple. We have to feed on the things that create peace within. Many people believe that I must just be a peaceful person naturally. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
In all honesty ,over the years, my inner self has been in a state of turmoil more often than not. The reasons are hundredfold... and not worth sharing. I write about peaceful experiences because I drink in the outward quiet to help still the noise within me. Nature has long been my multi-vitamin for nourishing peace. I was very young when I began to be awestruck by natures beauty.
I think it must have been my first serious look at the sky that began my appreciation of natures magnificence. The awesome wonder of a western sky ablaze in lavender, orange, purple, and blue, is a powerful source of quiet comfort at the end of a long day. How can a person not relax while viewing the sun setting low, providing a backdrop of wonder in the clouds of varying shapes and sizes.
When I was just a very young boy I would go deep into the Kentucky woods on my great-grandparents and grandparents farms. I would follow the creek that our water came from far off into the hills to its spring origins. I'd sit and listen to the gurgling water, as clear as crystal, rolling over the limestone and rocks. The sunlight playing on the ripples was mesmerizing, and the music of the stream only enhanced the spell. I would sit literally for hours.Then is when I learned that the quieter I was the more I was able to observe. Anytime you are moving in the woods you're missing something. I learned the value of being still. Sometimes to find peace you have to stop a while and just be still.The Bible says in Psalms, "Be still and know that I am God..." Wonders appear in the stillness.
In my earliest years I was fortunate to have generations of family members teach me that God created the earth and the heavens. I was taught that God is almighty, all knowing, wise, and wonderful. When I hiked and sat those long hours as a youth, I was keenly aware that all that I saw and heard around me in the woods was the handiwork of God. When I looked up into the canopy of limb and leaf, when I watched the animals, birds, and insects travel busily by, when I looked down the creek as it grew wider and deeper, I full well realized that I was in a spiritual place. Years later when I read the 8th Psalm of David it made such perfect sense to me: "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained; what is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man that thou visitist him?....O LORD our Lord how excellent is thy name in all the earth." It remains one of my favorite Psalms to this day.
Sitting in those hilly woods, sometimes on an overhanging stone ledge where I could see for miles, I felt that I was in the Cathedral of God. I still feel that way when I view the expanse of the western deserts, or I'm on a bluff overlooking the the crashing waves roaring in from the ocean; in all things nature I feel the presence of God. I always offer up a prayer of thanksgiving. Nature helped teach me the peace that comes from recognizing God... and praying.
The subject of prayer is a far bigger issue than I am able to offer any enlightenment on ; I just know that it brings me a measure of peace. For me, prayer is the main vitamin of the nutritional supplements that make for peace in the soul. Abraham Lincoln, when asked about prayer said, "I have been driven many times upon my knees in the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day." In it's simplicity, prayer is humbly having a conversation with God. It is, at times, asking things of Him. Strength to face a task, wishing for the lifting of a heavy burden, healing of body and/or soul, forgiveness for a transgression, or the ability to forgive someone for their transgression against us. We should often pray to offer thanks for provisions that God has made. I thank God daily for his mercy; I should, as I'm most likely the greatest recipient of His mercy of all men. We have often heard that if you cant think how to pray or what to pray for, then simply start by thanking Him for all He's done. Let the rest happen, listen and be still.
When I am out of strength, when I need direction, when I need grace to help me be a better man, I pray. When I am worried, confused, and addled by whats around me in this life, I find a place alone and seek converse with he who understands all things. Its then that I find peace. And, I love others who seek peace.
I recently heard a young gifted orator of a minister speak about rest. Among the many good things she spoke, she mentioned that "it's hard to rest when others around you are busy." This thought was in connection to her statement that we can be in a place of rest...and yet not BE at rest at all. I find this to be true of peace. We can be in peaceable place, but not be at peace unless we summon a calm within us. I seek out peaceable people when I can't be alone. This same young minister spoke some time ago about "settled people". "Settled people", she said, "are peaceful to be around." People that are in turmoil or a state of agitation will rob you of your inner peace. Whenever I can, I choose to be around people who are at peace, who share a spirit of calm with me. We cannot be calm, quiet, or peaceful all the time. Life doesn't allow that. But, I've learned to seek out the things that offer peace.
So, peace doesn't just always land upon us like a passing butterfly; sometimes it takes a little work to attain an inner peace. I will continue to find my way to the woods as long as I possibly can. I'll sit in the Cathedral of God beneath the wonderful canopy of sky, limbs and leaves. I'll watch the winged guardians ride the thermals and gracefully dance on air. I will allow the song of the wind in the cedars and pines to put me at rest. My lungs will expand to inhale the life-giving blessing of fresh woodland air. The smell of the myriad fauna will fill my olfactory senses to the brim. I will drink thirstily from the clear, cool, sweet stream of peace. And, I will offer a prayer of thanksgiving for this calming natural experience.
"Peace", I wrote all those many years ago, "is not what surrounds us, but rather what abounds in us. We seek to build a room, a place, within in us that is still and quiet, even when the cacophony of this present life is all around us." I went on to mention a story I heard of a contest for artists to paint a picture depicting peace.There were entries of peaceful-looking landscapes in pastoral settings. There were ocean sunsets, and lakeside cabins. But, the entry that won was a painting of a raging thunderstorm with angry clouds and lightning... and a bird nestled in a cliff quietly resting, safe and at peace in her nest.
We must fill this place within us as often as we can with all the things that quiet us. Seek out the things that encourage, that lead to peace. Find calm people and places. Pray to rid ourselves of things within us that disturb and hinder our ability to be still inside. Build a garden; if you cant build one in the physical sense then build one within. As a little sign on our back porch reads, "Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds, you can grow flowers, or you can grow weeds."
So, what is peace? It may be something that we each must decide for ourselves. No one but us and our Creator know what we truly feel inside. I do believe peace can be the absence war between peoples in this world. I also believe that it is the absence of warring spirits within us. I know that I experience a grand measure of peace in the surroundings of nature. One thing certain is, that at the very best, its a temporary thing if we only depend on external things to provide it. Lasting peace is a spiritual thing, a thing to be pursued and nourished within. I'm still learning. I'm still praying to the only truly lasting source of it.
It takes effort sometimes to find calm and quietness, but its the effort that adds sweetness to the experience. For me, the effort is in learning better how to be still; on the back porch in my rocker, in the presence of Gods natural handiwork... and in my soul. This feeling we call peace. My hope is that all who long for it, find it.
Peace to you all.
