T'Fillah in Nature: Enriching Spiritual Practice in the Garden

Beautiful yellow butterfly on
purple flower. 

The beauty of a beetle found while
walking in the woods. 

A tiny red Beetle in the leaf.

Found a frog while hiking and exploring the outdoors
at the Irvine Nature Center. 

One thing is certain,  we share this wonderful land with lots of other critters. At the conference on Jewish Nature Education that Betty and I attended last week, we were invited to think about T'fillah (prayer) as a journey of wonder. Who am I in connection with G-d and the world created by G-d and what is my role in this world? Clearly there is a role of formal prayer, and perhaps, one would not be possible with out the other in this journey. As we were walking at Pearlstone we came upon a bridge into the garden with the following plaque on the bridge which read as follows:

A child would often wonder in the woods. His father a bit concerned of the dangers that might lurk in the forest questioned him about this. "I have noticed that each day you spend many hours in the woods, I am wondering why you go there?" 
"I go to find G-d," the boy answered. "It is very good that you are searching for G-d, my son, but don't you know that G-d is the same everywhere." 
"Yes," the boy replied, but I am not." 

Having just completed the journey of wonderment and inquiry that the Kohavim boys and girls started, this was particularly meaningful. It is an individual journey for sure. Providing time to go outside and explore and appreciate the wonder of creation found at every step is opportunity we can not miss as we continue our journey in this earthly life.