Nature Experience: Nolan Trail - Peter Ikeda

My experience on the Nolan trail was a rejuvenating break from the hectic week I had. It was a great time for me to take a step back from the business of life and reflect on the little things. Sometimes it's easy for me to get swept up in the motions of life, stressed and worrying about too many things that I lose sight of the significance of life. Instead of being thankful and at peace for my life I become an emotional wreck overcome by circumstances and I quickly slip into going through motions almost like a robot, programmed to perform a task but without emotion. Our trip to the Nolan was the perfect escape for me to focus back on God and my purpose in life. Buber's words "Creation--happens to us, burns into us, changes us, we tremble and swoon, we submit" were spot on to describe my encounter on the Nolan. Walking under the shade of large trees with sunlight streaming in and bouncing off the reflective lake and hearing the sounds of many different creatures brought me to a sense of awe towards God the creator and life.
It all began when Dr. Redick was pointing out a plant called the "devil's walking stick". I remember thinking how negative the name was. Because of a few sharp thorns it had been deemed a tool used by the devil himself. This initial thought sparked the beginning of a deeper stream of thought that would consume my mind and heart during the rest of my walk. I began to think about perspectives and how just because it may hurt US if WE touch it wrong, this plant had been given a horrifying name. But to the tree the thorns were his source of defense, a way of life and yet WE had been so quick to shrug off any consideration towards this because it was harmful to US. How ignorant and self-centered we can be sometimes! I then began to think of all life and how although many things have been deemed negative they might not be negative at all. It was at this point that I stopped at a holly tree. One glance at the prickly leaves and the same thoughts coursed through my mind. One way of life may be completely different from our own and if inconvenient to us, it becomes bad or at least given a negative connotation. Thorns may not be as bad as we make them when looked at through the tree's perspective. I mean the tree could say the same thing about all our "construction" or he would argue "destruction" as we tear down forests for our own sake. This continuation of perspective thought then led me to think about life in general. How precious life is and how easy it is to take it for granted. As I walked through the Nolan streams of sunlight poured through the trees and lit up my face, I could hear the chirps of crickets and the caws of birds scouring overhead for food. The sun danced across the glistening lake and the cool autumn breeze whirled through the air. "How precious life is!" I thought to myself, trying to soak up the entirety of Creation. Closing my eyes I felt a connection with God himself as I walked through His creation. Never before had nature moved in me, I felt one with it, my steps were nature's steps, my breath, nature's breath. It was an odd and foreign yet exhilarating sensation! My entire being had merely dissolved into God's creation and I vowed to never again take life for granted. I came back from the trail with a forever changed outlook on life and an appreciation and connection to God I've never had before.

Kayla Delaguila- experience of a natural setting:Noland Trail

I had one quick thought after reading the excerpt from Lane, “[reciprocity] involved in touching and being touched by its particular array of rocks, trees, animals and geographical features,” I thought… the only animal that I touched and was touched by this afternoon was those silly mosquitoes. Meaningful and deep? No, but I thought I would share that thought before getting into the meat of my walk.
So, I have taken my fair share of nature walks, mostly to clear my head and done so mostly alone. I will admit I did find it hard to truly connect with anything being surrounded by my classmates and being on a time limit. One thing really stuck with me though, at the beginning of class Dr. Redick was talking about the vine and the tree. The relationship between them and such. It brought me back to when I was a little girl, I live in a very woodsy area and I used to run through the forest pulling the vines off the trees because I thought the vines were slowly killing the them. In hindsight it hardly seems fair of me to pick the tree’s life over the vine’s, but I just thought of the vine as this parasite that did no good to my mighty tree. I haven’t thought about this since I was little, but it was the first thing that came to mind when I thought of the tree and the vine. I then thought about Buber’s I and Thou excerpt, “ relation is reciprocity,” What reciprocal relationship does this vine have with this tree? It is like a penniless post-grad who lives in their parent’s basement. Then again I’m still thinking of the vine as a parasite. Perhaps the tree looks to the vine as its child. Then it could be related to an infant in his mother’s womb. Is that baby doing anything for the mom? Not particularly, but the mother is doing everything for that child. So what is a relationship of reciprocity? Are you saying that the mother and child don’t have a solid relationship because that baby is not directly doing anything positive for its mother? I thought I agreed that relationships need reciprocity, but I guess now I am on the fence. I think it more depends on the nature of the relationship. Mother and child, tree and vine, both do not share reciprocal relationships, but there is nothing wrong with that.
Yes, I spent most of my walk looking at the trees and the vines, thinking about eight-year-old me, and the advanced relationships we have and seek. It was a good time.

Jamie Englert-Outside Reading 2

Lately, I have been reading a lot of C.S. Lewis. I recently got a book that is a collection of his writings on certain topics. A particular one about love stuck out to me. "There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of selfishness. But in that casket-safe, dark, motionless, airless-it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell" (excerpt from his Four Loves). There are several things I really like about this quote. For example,I like how blunt Lewis is. He doesn't beat around the bush on this topic or sugar coat it by say loving something will always be perfect and painless. He describes love as taking a risk and being vulnerable, all while knowing that it may not end well. Choosing to play it safe and blocking yourself off in hopes to avoid possible tragedy, is a worse option in his eyes and I agree. In that "coffin of selfishness," your heart will become cold and bitter, not allowing anything to cause it to soften. I believe feelings of empathy, compassion and encouragement would completely disappear. Fellowship with anything would be impossible. Comparing this state to Hell is completely accurate. Life without love would be lonely, miserable and hopeless. The original intention to protect oneself would ultimately become their self destruction. We were not meant to live life alone. We have the ability to love because God first loved us. Why would anyone choose not to accept that gift?

Reflection- PJ Leegan

The past weekend I went home to Springfield, Virginia. Most of the time it seems that when I am at home I want to come back to CNU and when I am at CNU I want to go home. This time was different; I wanted to stay at home forever. I visited my old high school which brought back memories-good and bad. Even just sitting in my living room on Sunday watching football with my dad made me never want to leave. It reminded me of how awesome it was to be a child with no worries or obligations. My home is comforting and peaceful and I feel that once I leave it, I am thrown back into the grind of homework, tests and all sorts of obstacles. It seems that right when I returned to CNU I had a multitude of things to do. I guess that this fall break made me realize that my home is an escape or even a sanctuary, a place where I can just relax and wind down.

Reflection

There are times when I will lay in bed and think about my day, what I have done, who I have seen, where I have been. Every night I think of the same place where I felt at ease. This place may seem common to most, but it is complex in its simplicity. The benches on the back end of James River Hall are so surreal. The bench that I sit upon is the only place on the Christopher Newport University campus that nine time out of ten, I can be completely alone. In my solidarity, I can think about what is going on in my life. I can come up with solutions and ponder on life as a whole. Accompanied with a nice Pall Mall and a cup of coffee, the hours I spend on the bench just thinking and enjoying the night air. It may sound a bit creepy, but when the occasional student walks past on their way in or out of the residence hall, I think about them, who they are, what they're doing with their lives, their hope and their dreams. I suppose I will leave this post in the same way I would leave the bench. Simple, just as experienced.

Erin King- Reflection

Last weekend I made a trip home to Ohio, and on a lovely 9 hour drive I noticed the different color changes of fall and also the difference in landscape. Granted I only saw the view from the high way, but never the less I still felt a sense of "home" as the landscape changed from a flat Virginian peninsula to a hilly and more colorful landscape. The trees in Ohio had already turned to fall, showing there best autumn colors and flaunting there beauty. Something about fall whether intermixed with the company of family and walks in parks creates this feeling of serenity and peace. When I am outside, walking the trails of a nature preserve that I know like the back of my hand it feels like the world is quiet, if only for a moment. The brisk air that calls for a sweatshirt, and the leaves of scarlet and gold make fall not only my favorite season, but it also exemplifies that feeling of harmony that takes over when I am outside. During the fall months, every time I am in nature the feeling of "center" kicks in almost immediately. I feel calm and connected with the earth so much more than in winter or summer. Ohio's fall happens a tad earlier than in Newport News, so I cant wait until the trees start turning here.

Outside Reading Reflection - Peter Ikeda

A few weekends ago I went to go see "Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga' Hoole" with a few friends. The movie is based on a series of books that revolve around a band of owls who seek a sacred tree who's legends tell of its nobility and goodness. I had read the books and after seeing the movie decided I should reread them. I had just finished my bibliography project on Yggdrasil, the world tree of Norse mythology, so my knowledge of trees and their significance within religion and life was freshly ingrained into my mind while I read these books. Throughout the series the tree serves as a place of sacred importance to the band of owls; first as a legend and a myth set to inspire them and then when they discover the great tree it serves as a place where they undergo a spiritual journey. The "Ga 'Hoole" tree was the tree where the first owl king resided, it is a legend to many neighboring owl kingdoms, and is more advanced than any other owl kingdoms as well. It serves as the axis mundi of the owl universe in this series just like Yggdrasil serves as the axis mundi in Norse mythology because it is the center of all the universe. In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil was the tree where all life was intertwined. Through it's branches the nine different worlds were connected and there are many stories of the gods' interactions with this tree. Both trees are in the center of their respective universes and their interactions with deities, heroes, and other cosmological elements attribute to their significance. This connection really struck me as cool and got me thinking about other trees and how they're so significant in religion and how they serve a multiplicity of purposes to describe mankind and its beliefs.

Rachel Hrovat- Reflection

On a recent trip that I went on to spend a weekend at home, I did something spontaneous because of topics that we had discussed during class. I was driving on I-64 and decided that I wanted to stop and hike up to Humpback Rock, which is a trail off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a glorious day out, and I had been sitting in my car for most of it, and just had to get out to breathe in some fresh air. All I had were my TOMs to hike in, but was determined to make it to the top. This was not the first time that I have made this hike, because my family and friends often make the trek with me. However, this was the first time that I made it on my own. Once at the top, but even the trek up, I took in deep breaths of the mountain air, realizing that, like we had discussed, there really is something different, sacred, about the wilderness. I made it to the top, and just sat gazing at the 360° view of the surrounding valleys. In Lane’s book, he says “the place became sacred for me in a way I had never expected”, when talking about the Vietnam War Memorial. (p.55) I felt the same way with this location. Even though I had been here many times before, it never had this kind of impact on me. Lane also talks about having “ ‘moments in Nature’ that in intrinsic to any exchange occurring” (p.56) between the setting and myself. And it was the “ambient array” of the mountains, the “sensuous surface” of the rock I was standing upon, the “ground” or giant mountain that I was atop of, the “arc” of the rolling hills, as far as the eye could see, and the “atmosphere” of just soaking in the beauty of God’s magnificence shown through his wonderful creation.

Wilderness Experience - Peter Ikeda

Tonight I was over at a friend's house discussing God and things about our walk while doing my laundry. She introduced me to a book about God's unending love for us and the first section of the first chapter discussed our interaction with God. It talked about how when we communicate with God it's usually just us talking and praying a lot to him without ever just soaking up God's glorious presence. This point resounded in me and caused me to ask myself how many times I began praying or talking with God simply by talking about things, problems, requests, and so many other trivial things that I never really stopped just to enjoy being with God and holding his love steadfast. I mean I just read James 1:19 which calls for "every man to be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath" and although I have applied this to my earthly life and relationships why had I never applied this to the most important relationship of all?? So after our discussion I had to walk back to JR, about midnight, by myself and as I was walking back I was reminded of the book and what it said. So out of mere spontaneity I put down my laundry, closed my eyes, and took in the Lord. I listened to the sounds of creation: the chirping of crickets, the subtle whistling of an autumn breeze, the crunching of leaves... it was all so serene, almost poetic. I looked around me and took in all of nature, all of God's creation to behold a beautiful autumn night the Creator had made. It caused me to remember all that he had done from Creation and the fall of man to our redemption through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. This calm, brisk setting had somehow moved my spirit in a way it had never been moved. As cheesy as it is the scene almost brought me to my knees in utter awe of how powerful nature could be as it directly represents the Lord in his full glory. To think about photosynthesis, the patterns of the moon, the change of seasons, it was all so overwhelming that my spirit was just overflowing with joy as I felt God in this place. No word was said nor was one needed. It was out of the quietness of nature that I heard God speak clearly "I am God and I love you."

Morgan Creekmore - Journey Symbol Reflection

I had actually been reading about heroes and journeys as represented in literature the day before we were given the Journey Symbol article in class. This was also the night when my umbrella broke and the sky fell out with torrential rain. As I headed back to JR from the library I couldn't help feeling as though I was a hero on a journey. I was faced with obstacles: rain, wind, ditches, deep puddles, a broken umbrella, and a leaking rain boot. As I stepped in my room, puddles in my left boot, I couldn't help but feel accomplished. Journeys can be big or small, spiritual or epic, and can occur in many contexts of life. My trek didn't last very long, bit it had the same concepts that constitute any other journey: a calling to get back safe (and hopefully partially dry), people like the Einstein's employee who aided my journey with hot coffee, and obstacles along the way such as broken equipment and geographical obstacles. In our article, it says that a journey can be as simple as ascending a ladder or as epic as climbing a mountain. What connects them all as journeys are the shared themes present in all, similar to the themes presented in my example. As we embrace any type of journey, we cannot help but relate ourselves to the heroes in literature, be it a knight or a hiker. Just as we do this, we as people relate our experiences to place, creating "storied place". Stories make pilgrimages into journeys, because we relate ourselves to our favorite characters and we become a part of the stories that represent place.

Food as Communion on the AT

Food as Communion

Morgan Creekmore

10/5/2010

All of the hikers on the AT and other similar pilgrimages experience extreme hunger. Hunger becomes one of the main topics of discussion amongst the hikers, therefore, connecting the people to one another and helping them make relationships that turn into stronger bonds by the end of the trail. Food also connects people by acting as a means of communion; when people share a meal, they share a common need as well as ideas and stories. Communion leads to community along the trail. Because when you share a meal, you share a lot more. Sharing meals also means that you trust your dinner guest; food is a vital necessity, and you wouldn't eat with someone you didn't trust. When we share food we create a fellowship with people, a trust, and a bond.