Sacred Impressions in Nature

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature, and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.” — Anne Frank

Lately I have been contemplating not so much what nature offers man, something I have often felt and experienced, and that Anne Frank so adeptly expresses, but what man brings to nature.

I have always been drawn to nature, solitude and beauty to heal what ails me, physically or emotionally. So I was recently surprised at the answer, when I considered what are the Top Spots in the world that have held the greatest draw for my spirit and solace for my soul. The places most effective at replacing my consternation with ease, and grief with comfort usually do have a beauty, and often are indeed remote and in rural locations, but they are not necessarily the most remote or the most beautiful.

MacKinnon Pass, Milford Trek

They are places that feel sacred.

They are all places where saints have walked, lived or practiced their meditations, or where people have lived in harmony with and revered Nature.

Examples:

A remote place in the Vermont forest where my guru and his guru both walked.


Benares India, which has been home to Guru Nanak, Kabir, Ravidas and many other saints including, say some, Jesus. Though it is on the banks of the Ganges river and has a view of a rural riverbank across the way, Benares is not…er…quiet.


The woods and sanctuary where Saint Francis is said to have received the stigmata, in La Verna, Italy. Remote? Sort of, but not like you have to hike into the forest for 2 days to get there.


Sites where indigenous people have offered prayers and respect to Nature.

Ganga Ma in Kashi

Maybe we have all felt the result of violence imprinted on the land, whether on an old battlefield, the site of the former twin towers in Manhattan, former concentration camps, or revisiting any place that holds painful memories for us.

If pain can be imprinted onto the fabric of an environment, so to might Love and devotion be able to create a lasting impression. These are the places worthy of pilgrimage.

While natural beauty and wilderness gives me a break from my mental chatter, and does indeed offer solace, when it is imbued with the gift of attention paid from devotees of God and Nature, it feels even more powerful. When I retreat to those places, the very fabric of my own being feels altered as I find my own perspective rearranged.

Claudia in Benares