Lovely, lovely essay. What a great topic! You're very fortunate to have a mind like that, experiences, like you've had, and reactions to beauty, immensity, splendor and quiet grandeur like you've had. Plus the writing skills to convey inkling of it to your readers. Contrast your stance toward the world with that expressed by the phrase, "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." They are polar opposites.
I once sat on a hillside in an Asian country, looking at two white butterflies chasing each other in a tight spiral up into the blue sky and a voice came to me, "Beauty is the path to the highest." or words to that meaning.
I regret not getting the feeling of awe too much anymore, it's a Gift, when it does come. I dwell in its younger sibling Wonder, still though. And their cousin, Gratitude. Finitude in Time and Space is not a thing to lament.. it's a blessing.
"When I looked down over the rotting mountains of Sinkiang to the distant snowy hills I sensed a vague but familiar affinity to something great and enormously calm. I could never track it down or identity it inside me, and this time it remained shapeless as well. I felt this affinity intensely, though I couldn't see more than reddish distant mountains, motionless glaciers and clouds silently coming up the valleys.”
One of your best, Jason. Learned about this concept of awe a few years ago. Intriguing. I know when I say out loud,” I’m so happy” it’s usually as a result of some observed and participatory experience in nature. This writing about Awe, made me reflect on the isolation of too many Senior adults. I feel their sadness and aloneness.. I wonder how we could help those folks still feel and experience wonder or awe.
I too remain grateful for all the opportunities I’ve experienced and look forward to many more. namaste
Thanks, Jason, for the mention here — in yet another powerful dispatch. You're a braver writer than I am. I've been ruminating on an essay about awe and love in nature since March. I've got about four pages of notes in my field book — but the essay still frightens me. You've inspired me, however. So if it keeps raining here in New England, grounding lots of butterflies and dragonflies, maybe I'll give it a shot. Thanks again for all your insights and curated news. I gain a ton from FGA (maybe it does warrant the honorific of a three-letter abbreviation! 🤔)
Lovely, lovely essay. What a great topic! You're very fortunate to have a mind like that, experiences, like you've had, and reactions to beauty, immensity, splendor and quiet grandeur like you've had. Plus the writing skills to convey inkling of it to your readers. Contrast your stance toward the world with that expressed by the phrase, "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." They are polar opposites.
I once sat on a hillside in an Asian country, looking at two white butterflies chasing each other in a tight spiral up into the blue sky and a voice came to me, "Beauty is the path to the highest." or words to that meaning.
I regret not getting the feeling of awe too much anymore, it's a Gift, when it does come. I dwell in its younger sibling Wonder, still though. And their cousin, Gratitude. Finitude in Time and Space is not a thing to lament.. it's a blessing.
I love this quote:
"When I looked down over the rotting mountains of Sinkiang to the distant snowy hills I sensed a vague but familiar affinity to something great and enormously calm. I could never track it down or identity it inside me, and this time it remained shapeless as well. I felt this affinity intensely, though I couldn't see more than reddish distant mountains, motionless glaciers and clouds silently coming up the valleys.”
-alpinist Voytek Kurtyka
One of your best, Jason. Learned about this concept of awe a few years ago. Intriguing. I know when I say out loud,” I’m so happy” it’s usually as a result of some observed and participatory experience in nature. This writing about Awe, made me reflect on the isolation of too many Senior adults. I feel their sadness and aloneness.. I wonder how we could help those folks still feel and experience wonder or awe.
I too remain grateful for all the opportunities I’ve experienced and look forward to many more. namaste
Thanks, Jason, for the mention here — in yet another powerful dispatch. You're a braver writer than I am. I've been ruminating on an essay about awe and love in nature since March. I've got about four pages of notes in my field book — but the essay still frightens me. You've inspired me, however. So if it keeps raining here in New England, grounding lots of butterflies and dragonflies, maybe I'll give it a shot. Thanks again for all your insights and curated news. I gain a ton from FGA (maybe it does warrant the honorific of a three-letter abbreviation! 🤔)