Okay, full-throated honesty. This is a rough time of the year for me, and for that matter, in my life. Compounding things is the fact that I am unemployed, wondering what lies ahead for me and my family. My depression is often profound; despair is the bogey that visits me too often. My bed seems so comforting in the morning but then becomes cloying. I awake and the house seems inviting but then closes in around me. I want company but then grow weary of it. I create distractions and try to force my mind to look into the future. I must, the present can be a nightmare. But then the future turns into its own nightmare.
But I am confident that I will defeat this demon and I will persevere. Why am I confident of the outcome? I have nature, the companion of whom I have never grown weary. Through nature I am able to process these emotions and understand a deeper more spiritual meaning in my daily existence. When I let my mind and body escape to nature, whether a walk in the woods or a late night stroll down snow covered streets, I separate from the present and enter a realm most pleasing to body and soul; I enter the holiest of holies, my sanctum sanctorum. I am at once the earth and my mind soars above. I am one with God and with his creation. My flesh and blood are in nature and my soul takes flight. It is these moments I live and strive for because they allow me to overcome the earthly moments and the weight of my struggles day to day.
So I went out Sunday morning to Brown County State Park to worship with five fellow parishioners. I didn’t ask their faith; I simply asked if they could stand single digit temperatures. The congregation was small, just six worshippers, all were in the appropriate dress for church. We immediately saw signs of coyote, tracks and scat abundant. They must have been to early service as we were a little late to hear their morning chorus.
The woods were lovely with the fresh blanket of snow. The cold created beautiful ice formations on many of the remaining plant stems. We started from the nature center since the loop road down to Strahl Lake was closed due to the weather. We descended the short mile to Strahl Valley and the lake by the same name. A frozen expanse, the lake was covered by a beautiful white carpet. There was still some overflow and the spillway created a beautiful ice formation. The trees above the spillway were thick with rime ice created by the moisture rising from the creek below.
We wound our way around the lake and then up to the nature center where we enjoyed watching the birds at the viewing station. Cardinals, nuthatches, chickadees, titmice, downy and hairy woodpeckers, doves and more entertained us. Each and every moment of this experience reminding me that nature truly has my back.
