There is something magical in taking a slow walk where there are plants, trees, and nature. Natural or cultured, each touches one’s soul. In the cult movie Being There, Peter Sellers plays the role of a gardener. The gardener is the son of a gardener who has grown up exclusively in the small back garden of a wealthy Washington D.C. resident. When the last person passes, he is, as an adult, on his own for the first time in his life. The film plays on the simple wisdom which, while said with naïve innocence, touches the lives of sophisticated politicians he meets.
As I walked through a stretch of nature, I am reminded of Chauncey Gardiner and his observations about life. One can laugh at the simplicity of nature-based wisdom, scripted as well as left in wisdom books, however it still triggers Whispers which help guide me towards a better future. One variation was the words James left for reflection; “So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.” (James 1.21).
It is never enough to avoid making mistakes and ignoring the reality of bad choices. A starting point for me is a candid, often brutal, look in my mirror. What follows is an awareness of the opportunities to deal with the bad stuff of life while filling my heart and mind with the beauty and wonder.
In my experience, the focus on what is better creates opportunities to let go of what is less than good. Beauty trumps despair, wonder challenges cynicism, and compassion triumphs over judgment. In each experience, it is in my quest to be a better man that I discover ways to release the attitudes and desires which are inconsistent with the principles and ideals closest to my heart.
Chauncey has an extraordinary ability to always be in the present. Nature calls me to be unconditionally and fully in the moment. In going there, I discovered the awe of being here.
