the beach at Tennessee Valley, Canon Digital Rebel
I went on a wonderful walk in Tennessee Valley yesterday. It’s a few miles to the beach and the evening was thick with fog. It was mysterious and quiet, and I felt completely alone there and completely safe. For one of the first times in my life, I felt connected in a deep way to the landscape. The only way I have to describe it (and I feel a little shy saying it) is that I felt like God’s creation, equal to and of everything around me. The dirt and sand beneath me, the shriek of birds on the cliffs, the spiky nettles, the purple and orange wildflowers peeking through the grey mist, the smell of eucalyptus in the air. I felt connected to all of it. Different, but the same. Just god’s creation, moving through the world…
“There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough, to pay attention to the story.”
– Linda Hogan
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I think that’s a beautiful way to describe your feeling. I couldn’t think of a better way you could have said it.
Why would you (feel a little shy saying it)?
I love this photo and the Linda Hogan quote – they are perfect for each other. It’s so nice just to enjoy the momentand do it in some semblense of solitude. I find that if you can, for lack of a better phrase, turn your brain off for an hour, you can really get a better feel for that.
This is a great photo. Don’t be shy, you are one of God’s beautiful creations 🙂
Mac
I love that you dared to say it and I love how you did. I love those Universal Moments, I believe those experiences are a spiritual reality, the truth of what we are.
Thanks for expressing yourself again.
I’ve felt that before….I know I’m God’s creation, but that feeling of connectedness, isn’t always there…..thanks for the reminder!
You discribed that feeling beautifully. Thank you.
That was where I always went to the beach when I lived in Marin. Once in a great while, I’d make the drive out to Stinson…but I loved Tennessee Valley. I enjoyed the hike out to the beach just as much as the beach. 🙂
Beautiful, Andrea.
I felt that way in the desert in southwest Utah – I could feel it humming in the air around me. It’s something I’ll never forget.
i had that moment once, at sunrise on the far beach on Iona just off Scotland.
it was like that bit of the world was made just for me, and just for that moment. All of creation (me included) converged into that moment.
it was life changing.
I often feel shy sharing such thoughts as well… Why do you think that is? It always makes me angry and kind of sad when I feel too shy to share my true thoughts and feelings. What you had to say was very beautiful and so very natural. We should all be so lucky as to have the feeling of being one with God’s creations. Thank you for not letting the shyness stop you.
Imagine: God reads this entry, and these comments. God says, You’re part of it too, don’t forget.
The combination of that photo and the quote gave me chills!
well at risk of sounding redundant, don’t be shy. they were your honest thoughts and since they obviously had no intent of preaching or convincing anyone of anything, you have nothing to be shy about. these are your thoughts, and we come to your journal to read your thoughts. if we wanted to just read our own thoughts, we’d go to our own journals!
but i really enjoyed yours.
p.s. i showed my husband your jewelry online the other day, he was very impressed. thanks for sharing your gifts with the world!
Andrea:
Thanks for reminding us of the treasure that’s Tennessee Valley. I used to love making a little ‘pilgrimage’ down to trail to the beach. It’s one of the Bay Area’s loveliest places.
I feel that way looking at the ocean. And I felt that way when I was in Scotland, hiking on the Isle of Skye. And when I was in a rainforest on the coast of Oregon. Humbled, yet elevated, at the same time.
and remember, as beautiful as all of creation can be, we, humans, are the pinnacle of all of it. out of mountains, stars, oceans, flowers, we were the only thing made in His image. a mind-blowing thought, really.
beautiful photo. the picture alone is enough of a reminder for me.
Ohhhh…..! Just reading this, gave me those wonderful “goose-bumpy” kind of chills!! How awesome is it when all’s right with nature, and you find yourself smack dab in the middle of it?…..Thanks for for your uplifting account. Really positive, spiritual words….just what I needed to hear. Blessings to you…. 🙂
Andrea,
Wonderful quote and wonderful story.
I think it’s a real gift to get to experience this feeling of total connection.
I think God heard you needed to be reminded that he is there in everything and that you too are there in everything and everything is there in you.
Sounds like a wonderful experience.
Jenn