We spend our summers at a lake cottage on the coast of Maine but this week my wife and I did something different. We enjoyed a house swap, staying in a flat just across the Hudson River from New York City. We took in museums, a Broadway musical, outdoor concert, comedy club, dinners out, subway, bus, ferry, taxi rides, Grand Central Station, Time Square, NYC Library, etc. Had a great time--while surrounded almost completely by concrete, glass, steel, construction, non-stop noise, smells, lights, action--and much of the time we were shoulder to shoulder with people speaking languages from around the world.
Two things struck me. 1. The kindness of complete strangers who took initiative to be helpful on many occasions. 2. In the midst of all the concrete, steel and glass, signs of the presence of nature were everywhere . . . the Hudson River, waterfowl, birds, bugs, worms, wasps, cats, dogs, flowers, bushes, huge shade trees and gorgeous gardens on top of many of the buildings...and of course, smack dab in the middle of Manhattan is the magnificent Central Park with streams and ponds, bike trails and walking paths, glens of mature trees, large grassy areas and a zoo!
Our deep human need for connection with the rest of the natural world was so obvious in the architecture, landscaping and urban planning of properties both public and private. Even the home we stayed in had a lovely oriental garden in the backyard. Every morning I sat on the couch and did my meditation while gazing out four large glass patio doors at tiered bamboo plants swaying gently in the breeze. And to top it all off, on our last night we watched the full moon rise over the Manhattan skyline.
While mesmerized by the moon's sallow beauty, I found myself thinking that no matter where we are or what we do we simply can't separate ourselves from nature--from our nature. It isn't just all around us. It's in us . . . just as we're in it . . . and, as part of nature, either we're in this all together or we're not in it at all.
That's an inspiring, if sobering, thought.
"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12)
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