There\u2019s a garden waiting hidden in the cracks between the red bricks of the University of Richmond campus.\u00a0 It\u2019s small and enclosed with tall hedges, a rectangular pool with water lilies, and a sun dial engraved with a poem that reads:<\/p>\n
The kiss of the sun for pardon<\/em><\/p>\n The song of the birds for mirth<\/em><\/p>\n One is nearer God\u2019s heart in a garden<\/em><\/p>\n Than anywhere else on earth<\/em><\/p>\n The older I\u2019ve gotten, the more I\u2019ve moved away from a solid concept of a single god or creator to whom I owe praise.\u00a0 Instead, I\u2019ve grown to place all of my faith and adoration into the concept of a continual, universal flow of energy emanating from all living things.\u00a0 This teeming life force is my \u201cgod,\u201d and nowhere do I feel more connected to my god than in the natural world.<\/p>\n In the garden, I\u2019m bordered by weathered bricks blanketed in moss, a silhouette of human creation embraced by nature\u2019s omniscience.\u00a0 Fat songbirds hide in the twists of the hedges where it\u2019s safe and sing unseen.\u00a0 Now, in the winter, papery leaves whisper as they scatter across the narrow pathways and smooth, swirling branches of the bare trees lift up past the top of the walls and spill into the opaque sky.\u00a0 It\u2019s impossible not to feel the spirit of every life and every ghost within the walls mingling with mine.\u00a0 Though I may have struggled to feel that formal connection with an accepted or well-documented god, the divinity that I sense when I stop long enough to hear, see, smell, taste, and feel these overwhelming confirmations of brimming, abundant, exquisite life streaming around and through me is enough.<\/p>\n It\u2019s enough to remind me to live well and mindful that I\u2019m a tiny part of this beautiful exchange.\u00a0 Like every energy, mine is intricately linked to those surrounding it and has the power to positively or negatively affect the flow.\u00a0 It\u2019s therefore my obligation and my purpose to respect that universal flow by doing everything I can to contribute positively to the cycle.<\/p>\n The poem that marks the sundial can be interpreted in a number of ways, and that\u2019s the beauty of religion and spirituality.\u00a0 We may call our gods different names, assign different rituals to recognize them, and center our lives more or less on them, but one thing that is certain and unassailable is that evidence of the divine is everywhere in nature, and connecting with it is as simple as knowing where to look.<\/p>\n A song <\/a>for the day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There\u2019s a garden waiting hidden in the cracks between the red bricks of the University of Richmond campus.\u00a0 It\u2019s small and enclosed with tall hedges, a rectangular pool with water lilies, and a sun dial engraved with a poem that … Continue reading