Excerpt: © Copyright, Julian Gresser, March, 2013, Piloting Through Chaos—The Explorer’s Mind (Bridge 21 Press March 2013) All rights reserved.
Our primary connection to Beauty has been through Nature, and our sense of awe and wonder is likely unchanged since the dawn of our species. Indigenous peoples retain this living, immediate connection with Beauty. The Navajo, for example, have a special ceremony called the "Beauty Way," which is designed to restore balance and harmony by reestablishing the link to the Natural World.
With dew about my feet may I walk
With beauty before me may I walk
With beauty behind me may I walk
With beauty above me may I walk
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk
It is finished in beauty
It is finished in beauty.
The naturalist, John Muir, expressed it this way:
"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.
The winds will blow their freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."(1901)
