Alex Clark: Natural Experience: clearing

‘I rounded a corner on the trail to a break in the trees where the slowly setting sun shone through a clearing. The way the light hit the trees, the color and warmth of the sun, the image of the grass and trees, and something about just being in that place at that time struck me. I was able to silently revel in that moment, standing still and appreciating the feeling that nature had caused in me. There was warm sunlight on me with a slight breeze, my favorite type of weather. There was something about that moment that encouraged memories for me as well, but at the time I could not put my finger on it. With later consideration I realized that this single instance had transported me back to some of the most spiritual times of my life. Something about that scene in front of my eyes had made me feel the same as I felt during times of isolated reflection in the forest. “The ability to recreate our images of the world around us - to reconstruct the ordinary by the power of the imagination – may be the highest grace we are given (Lane, p. 254).” This encounter that I had on the trail was communication between my surroundings and myself, creating a memory with chora. Not only did this happen, but the encounter permitted, as Lane says, possibly the highest grace we can receive, by allowing me to recreate times that are very important to me, by allowing me to create based on my surroundings.’