Savoring Your Surroundings

...the soothing silence

Every day, seclusion—the soothing silence, far from the clank of crowds,
Every day at least two or three hours of freedom, no talk, no bonds, no dress, no manners,
Away from books—away from art—the lesson learn’d, pass’d o’er,
No longer abash’d, for I can respond as I would not dare elsewhere.

Walt Whitman, The Poet in Nature

Whitman spoke of 2-3 hours of freedom each day, far from the clank of crowds. His poetic celebration of being out in Nature strikes a cord. Now, more than ever, we need to be alone, in silence, outdoors.

He went on to write, “To bring out from their torpid recesses, the affinities of a man or woman with the open air, the trees, fields, the changes of seasons—the sun by day and the stars of heaven by night…”

As spring approaches perhaps I will find the time to be alone - with the open air, the trees, fields, change of seasons. We are here for such a short time. Experiencing nature is a gift: the smell of the earth after a rain, the new leaves emerging, the sound of the birds. The clouds passing overhead.

Whitman was so eloquent in his call for us to be out in Nature:

We are nature—
We are bedded in the ground,
We are rocks, we are oaks,
We become plants, trunks, foliage, roots, bark,
We are what locust blossoms are,…

Walt Whitman was an American literary treasure. He faced so much resistance and denial. But he persisted and spoke to us of eternal truths in such a lyrical way. And I am so glad he did!

A garden is away to co-create with Nature. Garden making cannot replace communing with Nature silently but it is a way for some of us to savor our surroundings.