Starry Starry Night

To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me. But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds will separate between him and what he touches. One might think the atmosphere was made transparent with this design, to give man, in the heavenly bodies, the perpetual presence of the sublime. Seen in the streets of cities, how great they are! If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.

From Ralph Waldo Emerson's Nature we can see the delight nature produced for him. It should produce a similar sensation in our own heart. It is, after all, part of God's wonderful handiwork. Yet, as Emerson noted, we see them [stars] every night. We have grown to look on them almost as contemptible. Someone once suggested that familiarity breeds either contempt or boredom, perhaps both. Although Emerson began by addressing the spiritual discipline of Solitude, and it's true, it is a discipline much neglected. Yet there is something more here. Perhaps another discipline, and, yes, I would dare to call it a spiritual one as well, is that of delighting in Nature. Both of these disciplines are one's I overlook. There are excuses available, both of them can be discarded on the fact that our schedules are just too busy. There is no time for Solitude and there is certainly no time for Nature either. But that's not true. Those are invalid excuses. There is always time. We have all the time in the world, and if we don't have enough time than we need to make time. Quite honestly I am not much of a "tree-hugger." I've never been what some call "nature freaks." I am a city boy (and proud of it), but I need to get back in touch with my roots. No, this is not some ridiculous nature cry. I am not a pantheist (although I do enjoy pantheistic poetry). This is not about the circle of life or anything evolutionary either. No, this is just about learning to appreciate the beauty God has given us. It was once handed over to us, placed, in a way, under our care or dominion. Let's see if we can head back and appreciate Nature a little more. Just because the stars don't come out once every thousand years does not mean that they should not be appreciated. Let them recall the wonder they have evoked in others, and even in you, as you gaze up at them.