As I was meditating this morning in front of this image of Jesus and Mary, with a beeswax candle and some beautiful crystals in front of it, I had this thought: "It is as though the entire universe is contained in this one piece of fluorite." Of course one single crystal is not the entirety of the amazing universe, but somehow, in that moment, I felt connected to all that is simply by looking into the depths of a small piece of a mineral.
Winnie the Pooh, a character who has honestly become a soul friend of mine, and who "embodies" my spirituality, philosophy, and sense of life in more ways than I can name here, is known for wandering about the forest greeting friends - not only friends like Christopher Robin and all the other animals that make their home in the Hundred Acre Wood, but also the trees, clocks, and other objects. To Winnie the Pooh all that is is a friend. As a colleague said recently, "Beau, you definitely have a brand." Obviously, that brand is all things Pooh. So it isn't any surprise that one of my favorite activities is spending time wandering around forests, wooded areas, and gardens. Lately, one of my favorite places to wander about has been Christ in the Wilderness.
As I wander around the forests at Christ in the Wilderness I have an experience not unlike what I experienced as I looked into that piece of fluorite while meditating, but this experience is different in an important way. When I am in the midst of a forest I have this palpable sense that I am contained in the universe. That I am part of a vast, wondrous, interconnected web of beauty and goodness. And when I stop to appreciate the majesty and beauty of one particular tree, I'm still connected to the rest of the forest (a forest really is a wonderfully complex interconnected system- just read The Hidden Life of Trees).
It seems to me that there are spiritualities that tend to be more forest spiritualities - that is, though they take on specific forms, though they are in relationship to the holy - to the "ground of all being" (yes, I've always loved this phrase of Paul Tillich, and here it fits beautifully with all of the forest imagery) in specific ways, they don't lose sight of their participation in a far more vast, interconnected reality - the forest...God, the Universe, use whatever language you will. Other spiritualities tend to be more tree spiritualities - that is, the only thing that matters is this tree - my tree. My tree's connection to any other tree is purely coincidental, and certainly not in any way essential to my tree's identity or existence. As long as I stick to this tree, I can be certain that understand the fulness of treeness - this tree tells me all I need to know.
Now, in case I have managed to lose track of my Christian friends in this forest of metaphor, here is how all this connects, I think, to my identity as a Christian.
The spirituality with which I grew up in the Southern Baptist Church was definitely a tree spirituality. My individual relationship with Jesus was what mattered, and nothing else. There was no talk of the body of Christ (a vast, interconnected web of relationship- like a forest!), much less any sense of finding value in other religions and spiritualities, all of which were to be considered suspect at best and, more typically, outright dangerous to one's salvation.
Wandering around the forest as I am wont to do these days, my spirituality has evolved into much more of a forest spirituality. I cling to the Tree of Life - to Christ, and am firmly rooted in Christianity. Yet I find shelter, nourishment, oxygen, beauty, the breath of the Holy Spirit, and more in the great forest of spiritual traditions. Now, of course, especially for Christian theologians this would lead to many questions. Do I find value in lots of other traditions, but salvation only in Christ? What am I looking for when I wander around and explore other trees in the forest? These and more are all fine questions, but I'm not particularly concerned with answering them right now. For now, I am grateful for the grounding and rootedness I find in Christ, and for the grace to be able to wander in the forest and breathe deeply of the life-giving nourishment and connection it provides.