I go to the woods to worship and to pray. I have always had
My Way of Praying
and it is best surrounded by trees with sunlight and dappled shade, towering trees, and bird song. The woods are my cathedral and my place of solace.
Mostly my prayers are a refrain of “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! For this beauty, for these trees, for my body that allows me to walk under these trees, for life, for sunshine, for breath.
How I go to the woods
Ordinarily, I go to the woods alone, with not a single
friend, for they are all smilers and talkers and therefore
unsuitable.
I don’t really want to be witnessed talking to the catbirds
or hugging the old black oak tree. I have my way of
praying, as you no doubt have yours.
Besides, when I am alone I can become invisible. I can sit
on the top of a dune as motionless as an uprise of weeds,
until the foxes run by unconcerned. I can hear the almost
unhearable sound of the roses singing.
If you have ever gone to the woods with me, I must love
you very much.
― Mary Oliver, Swan: Poems and Prose Poems
I never tire of spending time with trees, in the woods, on the paths, and by the lakes here in Minnesota. Some day after COVID-19 fades away I hope to visit the redwood trees and sequoia trees on the west coast.
How about you? What is your favorite place in nature? Does my way of praying seem like your way of praying?
May you walk in beauty and pray beneath trees.
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