Sanctum sanctorum is a Latin translation of the biblical term: “holy of holies” which generally refers in Latin texts to the Holiest place of the tabernacle of ancient Israel and later the temples of Jerusalem but it also has some derivative use in application to imitations of the tabernacle in church architecture.
The Tabernacle, according to the Hebrew Bible, was the portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan.
Often, I am asked when I developed my love for nature. That is a complicated question that still gives me pause and compels my thoughts inward. To me, nature is religious, it is scientific, and it is the past, the present, and the future. It developed from no singular moment in my life, no sudden epiphany. As romantic as it would be to say that one day while walking in the woods I saw an apparition that suddenly endowed me with the depth of love I have for nature, it would simply not be true. For I think that as much as I found it, nature rose out of my very being. It is a part of my DNA, a connection to my ancestors that stretches back eons. When I think about when the deep connection emerged in my life, I think back to my boyhood. As I often say, years ago a young boy bounded out of his house barefoot on a summer morning full of wonder at the natural world around him and he has yet to come back inside. But that is more a metaphor than a reality, for there were many summer mornings and for that matter winter, fall, and spring mornings when I ventured out in wonder. Each of my days, morning, noon, and night, has been and continues to be a voyage of discovery.
Both my girls frequently go on hikes with me. Often it includes a walk down the creek, which involves throwing rocks whenever possible. The desire to throw rocks in water is legendary among children. Who hasn’t skipped a stone or two? Being in the woods with a child teaches me to look at nature with wonder, as if I am experiencing it again for the first time. A tabla rosa, if you will. To see nature as a child is to see it without the prejudice that comes with age. I discard that, oh I’ve seen that before attitude, and accept the reality that there are so many things that I can’t simply explain away by scientific fact or religious dogma. It awakes the child in me where the seeds of nature sprouted generations before. There is no greater experience than marveling with a child about the beauty of a walnut even underneath its dirty exterior; or picking up a stone from the creek bed and finding something unique about its appearance; perhaps it’s letting a millipede crawl on your finger; or it’s finding a tiny mushroom growing from a pine cone. Without slowing down I risk missing these simple but beautiful things and the depth of the lessons they teach. I thank God every day for allowing me to continue to view the world as a child.
When I go outside, it is really like going in. I see God in all nature, from the tiniest flower, to the sunrise, and the night sky at the end of the day. There is no other place where I experience His presence more than when I am in this natural cathedral. Let me dispel the notion that I am a pantheist, for I am not. I just see the divine in the things I experience outside. It is my personal belief in God that is one of the foundations of my natural being. My beliefs are not bound up in dogma, whether it is the big bang theory or the creation story. Don’t get me wrong, these are all fascinating and relevant to various systems of belief and how we understand the world around us. Equally compelling to me are the creation stories of native cultures around the world, including our Native Americans. I don’t take my direction from the pulpit or the laboratory. It wells up within me and is the product of my own faith and inquisitiveness. It is deeply personal. To me, if one gets lost in the world of religion or of science you are missing the point. They are not mutually exclusive ideas, but both can contribute to a rich and full understanding of our natural world. For me, when I step outside and look up into the sky I have entered my sanctum sanctorum and my tabernacle dwells within me.