When Nature Speaks, Who Are You Hearing?

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by Adam Frank

April 15, 2014 2:01 PM ET

 

"...

I am not a poet and can not come close to evoking the character of the experience in words. It was the mist and the rainfall and the birdsong and the scent of spring to be. It was all that and something more — much more — while also being fundamentally less — empty, poised, waiting.
I've had this kind of experience many times before. I've had it in the middle of cities and on buses crowded with commuters. I've had it in the woods, where I was the only person around for miles. I have had it watching sunrises and sunsets. And, more often than not, I've felt it under the dark night sky and the bright, questioning stars.
I hope you've had this kind of experience too — or, at least, your version of it. You can call it what you want. For me, the best word to describe the character of these strange moments is sacredness. I've written before about why I favor sacred over others like spiritual. But that's not the topic for today. Today I am not interested in definitions but locations.
Where does sacredness live?
..."