“And oh, I love the life within me, I feel a part of everything I see. And oh, I love the life around me, a part of everything is here in me.” Season’s Suite: Summer. John Denver, 1972.
I do love life. Weather you like his singing or not, Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. was on to something. He realized things that many of us did not grasp about ourselves and the world around us. The life within me is connected to the life around me. I am a part of everything outside of me, as everything is a part of me. It is a concept much larger than me that, once realized, makes it difficult to focus solely on me.
Not surprisingly, anymore, when I am out amongst the wild things and spaces, I am focused solely on them, not myself. It is as if I do not exist, at least not singularly. The “I” becomes something else, something bigger. It is not as if I am lost, for as they say: “Not all who wander are lost.”
All things work together for good. Romans 8:28. Things can work together only through connection, and thus we are made. In the 2009 film, Avator, the Na'vi tribe say, “I see you,” as if to say, “we have a deep and real connection.” Similarly, as Brene Brown writes:
Spirituality is recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to each
other by a power greater than all of us, and that our connection to that power and to one
another is grounded in love and compassion.
We are connected to one another, each and every one of us, and to the earth that sustains us, entertains us, and pleases us. With each press of the shutter release button on my camera, I participate in that connection. I want to see each animal’s eyes, to look into their souls. I stand upon that mountain or in that field, by that lake or stream. I am part of its flow. I feel a part of everything I see. A part of everything is here in me, and I want to share that with you.