Nature Meditation – SEEING WHAT WE WANT TO SEE
“Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.”Arthur Schopenhauer
I am standing atop a mountain, looking out, mesmerized. The landscape upon which my eyes are feasting is an intense dynamic sea of clouds. There are clouds below in the valley rising up, as if the ground was boiling. There are clouds above in the sky that grow exponentially and create an unexpected optical illusion, like fractals expanding continuously, yet occupying the same space. Then there are clouds in front of me, blanketing the horizon, covering the slopes of countless mountains, their peaks appearing and disappearing like floating islands playing hide and seek in an ocean of cotton balls.
Staring and contemplating, I am reminded of the fog in San Francisco, a living entity that rolls over the hills, blown from the Pacific and playing tricks on the Bay’s inhabitants. Its magical powers are undeniably formidable. Its mastery in the art of illusion is irrefutable. Some days, it manages to make the entire Golden Gate Bridge disappear. On other days, it hides the city of San Francisco, one of America’s largest cities, behind such a thick opaque white curtain that for anyone sitting on the shores of Marin County or Berkeley, nothing can be seen except for a giant wall of nothingness.
On such a day, imagine what it would mean if you knew nothing of this area. Passing by, driving north or south on Highway 80, your experience of this location would be reduced to seeing a seemingly boring landscape, nothing more than a white horizontal veil spreading in all directions. When in fact, behind the fog lies one of the most powerful and iconic cities in the world.
Every time I see clouds, or fog, I think about all the treasures, worlds of wonder, truths and realities that remain hidden, away from our existence, away from our consciousness. Not because they are unreachable and unattainable, but only because we let ourselves be blinded by something that is nothing more than a smoke screen. Over the course of my life; through my ups and downs, successes and failures, gains and losses, I have come to understand how this insight from nature is at the core of my life journey and the foundation to my happy life. What we choose to believe, what we choose to see and hear, is only a perspective of a much bigger reality. A perspective that is defined by our chosen beliefs, values, and fears. In other words, what we see is what we want to see. We believe what we want to believe.
Yet these narratives we create are like the clouds that magically take away mountains, bridges, and cities from our visual realm. The limitations and boundaries we perceive are nothing more than an illusion, a perspective relative to a wide range of pre-conceived notions.
When I look up to the sky, I see the clouds that hide the blue atmosphere behind. When I do see the blue sky, I am blinded of the Universe that lays beyond. At night, when I look up and marvel at the sky saturated with stars, the gargantuan and unimaginable world of wonders that exist beyond, outside of our realm of comprehension, still remains hidden to me. When I look at someone, despite being able to see them, touch them, and feel them, what is inside of them, not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually is a complete mystery.
Lets meditate on what we believe in; these narratives that have come to define our lives. Are they limiting our capacity for a much greater and happier life? Are they expanding our consciousness? Are they hiding us from a world where love and compassion prevail? Are we ready to bear straight ahead, seeking what lies in and beyond the fog?
The Power of Nature to Nurture, Awaken, Transcend, Uplift Restore, Elevate, the Human Spirit
