URBAN EDGE FOREST THERAPY
  • Home
  • About
    • About Forest Therapy
    • About Urban Edge
    • Gallery
  • Walks and Events
    • Sign up for a Walk
    • What Can I Expect?
    • Why Do I Need a Guide?
    • Community Outreach
    • Testimonials
  • Trail Certification
  • Additional Resources
    • Books
  • Contact
  • Blog

OVER THE EDGE
The Hacker's Guide to Discovering Urban Nature


Photo: Courtesy Joel Sternfeld
(c) 2001 All rights reserved.


In the Field

9/5/2018

0 Comments

 
island sunsetPhoto by Nancy Kopans
September is here, a time of transitions. Children return to school and, with summer vacations now a pleasant memory, work tends to ramp up. With the days getting shorter many of us turn indoors earlier. We are nearing a time of harvest, and here and there we might notice a leaf’s changed color, a harbinger of the radiance of autumn to come.

In the Jewish calendar, a lunar calendar, we are nearing the end of the month of Elul, the days that lead up to the New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Whether or not you are Jewish or religiously-minded, there is something apt about this time of year being the New Year, a time of reflection and a time of a long cycle of new beginnings.

A parable teaches that in the month of Elul “God is in the field”. That is, God is not sequestered on the palace throne, surrounded by guards, but rather has ventured into the countryside to meet ordinary people and grant their requests. God is outside and accessible. This time of year thus asks that we be attuned to what is around us and to open our senses to an awareness of a divine presence in nature. It reminds us of the feeling of “what is bigger than ourselves” that we can experience when in nature.

Others have noted the sense of the divine in nature. As Thoreau wrote, “Nature is full of genius, full of divinity. (Journal, January 5, 1856). He defined his “profession” as “to be always on the alert to find God in nature—to know his lurking places. To attend all the oratorios—the operas in nature.” (Journal, September 7, 1851).

Consider the wisdom of opening one’s senses to the divine in nature, to attend its “oratorios” and “operas” and to be reminded of what is bigger than ourselves.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    About this Blog

    Hi! I'm Nancy Kopans, founder of Urban Edge Forest Therapy. Join me on an adventure to discover creative ways to connect with nature in your daily life, ways that are inspired by urban surroundings that can reveal unexpected beauty, with the potential to ignite a sense of wonder.

    Want to be alerted to new blog posts? Follow me on Twitter.

    Archives

    October 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018

    Categories

    All
    Animal Mineral Vegetable: Animal
    Animal Mineral Vegetable: Mineral
    Animal Mineral Vegetable: Vegetable
    Art & Architecture
    Earth Wind And Fire: Wind
    Fact And Figures
    Intro
    It's A Holiday
    Light
    Native New Yorkers
    Nature's Medicine
    Parks And Recreation
    Plant Medicine
    Pocket Adventures
    Space/Time Paradigms
    Urban Astronomy
    Water
    Weather
    Wisdom

    RSS Feed

Privacy
©2017-2022 Urban Edge Forest Therapy LLC. All rights reserved.

  • Home
  • About
    • About Forest Therapy
    • About Urban Edge
    • Gallery
  • Walks and Events
    • Sign up for a Walk
    • What Can I Expect?
    • Why Do I Need a Guide?
    • Community Outreach
    • Testimonials
  • Trail Certification
  • Additional Resources
    • Books
  • Contact
  • Blog