GOD’S ARTISTRY

The autumn leaves of 2013 have been as spectacular as any year I can recall. We’ve had more sunshine than we typically receive this time of year, which has backlit the multi-colored leaves in ways that are entrancing and breathtaking. Temperatures have also been an irresistible invitation, for me, to be outdoors. Who can be cloistered inside when God’s artistry is at its height of grandeur? All Creation, at whatever scale, is God’s expression of Love and Beauty. So, I find myself outside in the garden, away from the tumultuous passage the world is currently undergoing. Here, a deep “soul-quietness” can surface and thus the heartbeat of nature is heard—the Divine Pulse. The garden is a place of communion and listening wherein the mind and heart unite, provided that we purposefully leave the things of the world behind. As the personal sense of self subsides, God speaks to us in the silence of the garden. The heavenly “Word” caresses our soul. The inner Light waxes. Sitting on my squat stool in the bark dust pathway, I feel like a human nymph surrounded by maple leaves, all of which demonstrate the stunning palette of Spirit’s colors. The leaves are indescribably beautiful—the artwork of God’s imagination and boundless novelty in manifested form. I’d love to have them stay forever! But, alas, in this part of the garden, we collect them. One by one by one, each leaf is picked up by doing a seemingly small task in a joyously conscious way. After all, each leaf, once vibrant and full of pulsating life, is an aspect of God, like us. This work of “leafing” is physically energizing and emotionally satisfying. Above all, it is spiritual labor. It’s a meditation of patient, passionate endurance within a tranquil motion, much like Brother Lawrence in his monastic vocation among his kitchen pots. For him, no greater delight surpassed his mundane work of cooking and cleaning for the brothers who shared such a God Space. Eckhart Tolle would describe this effortless focus as bringing an alert presence to an ordinary moment. We discover then that the magical Kingdom of Perfection is already within—all the time. It awaits our arrival. It awaits a still mind. The garden is a return to the heart, a place of true, unchanging values—and of eternal peace. Much has been written about the garden as a metaphor for life. For me, the garden is a symbol for both the heart and our Divine nature. Within the garden, through our devoted care, perseverance, organization, focus, and love, we ease toward our Center, that Lighted Kingdom within. And we realize that we too are a part of God’s peerless artistry. Ultimately, the rewards for gardening and living can’t be measured in time, dollars, or possessions. It’s only about love. We do it for love. Love is the reward. Love is all that matters. Maybe love is all that lasts after we are gone, too. Well, love and trees. It’s good to plant trees. …I don’t have to garden. I could hire someone. But why do I do it? LOVE. Maria Rodale Nature is the art of God. Dante Alighieri   Related Posts: • A Visual Autumn Feast • Gone Gardenin’ • Venturing Out • Divine Shaping • Spiritual Essence Of Stabilitas • The Tree That Shares • A Wall Of Love • Memory Garden • Earth Day 2012 Text © by Zane Maser, 2013. Photos © by Chris and Zane Maser, 2013. All rights reserved worldwide. My editorial guru and technological wizard is Chris Maser, my delightful husband.

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