While on the Spiritual Renewal Day, I was walking at Prairiewoods on the afternoon of Nov. 9, 2020, and as always when I’m there, the beauty of God’s Creation struck me. I had every intention of going to the labyrinth and walking the labyrinth, one of my favorite things to do. However, God had something else in mind for my meditative heart that day.
I ended up sitting on the bench that is dedicated to the sisters who founded Prairiewoods and watching the wind blow in the trees. I saw an image of a person dancing with her arms high in the air, swaying back and forth, just like the trees were doing on this windy day.
What emerged from my spirit, and from the Holy Spirit, is this poem:
Rhythm of the Earth: Wind
by Mary HoggThe branches blowing in the wind in perfect mathematical form and symmetry,
Swaying to and fro,
Always equidistant in their movements.
A gift from God to us.The trees are breathing as they blow,
Giving life to all of us, all of God’s Creation.The prairie grasses in their November glory,
Bend and sway in the wind sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left.Nature is beyond belief and so amazing,
In the wind, there is a symphony of sounds
And an orchestra of dances going on …
The hushed sound of blowing,
The swishing sounds of trees that make noise.Listening to the wind,
Watching the wind,
Being entranced by the wind,
Nearly blown over, even sitting down, by the wind.Then the sun rises above the clouds and wind,
Buildings making sounds reacting to the wind,
Beautiful blue sky,
Amazing perfectly white clouds,
A distant chirp of a bird,
God’s Amazing Grace is abundant.I am reminded of my mother hanging bed sheets and pillow cases on a clothesline in my childhood,
She always liked a nice wind to help dry the sheets.God creates wind to power energy, to cool things down, to show off the beauty of Creation.
It is here, in the midst of the earth, the rhythm of the earth is wind.
God made it so.In another grove of nature, there are tall leafless trees that make yet another symphonic sound adding to the orchestra of earth.
Movement is at the tallest spot of the trees,
Some movement stemming from the trunk of the tree,
Some stemming from clumps of branches.In this wooded place, struck by the Derecho storm on August 10, there is still life,
And abundant life everywhere.
Even the trees that are standing hunched over have beautiful lives.The interconnectedness with humans and nature is heard, seen, felt, tasted and touched when out here in it.
God’s handiwork tells the story.When we dance, it is like the dancing of the tree branches in the wind.
Rhythms are in sync,
Creatures are in sync,
We are in sync with nature.
—Mary Hogg, friend of Prairiewoods