Alexa Botha (Landscapes of the Sacred #1)

I find myself underlining and circling and marking notes in this book more than actually reading! Each sentence resonates with me in a somewhat "Ah-ha! Exactly" type of moment. I especially love when Lane recounts the story of his own sacred place, or rather lack of. Only when he gave up looking did he find a beautiful moment in the forest with the deer that walked out in front of him. This hits so close to home for me. I often go on trips or adventures of with an idealistic hope of having the moment of luminous encounter that Lane describes. Every summer I head to Northern Michigan, and upon every arrival I get there and wait anxiously for that moment and feeling. I want it to just automatically happen. Boom! You are here now and you are connected. When it doesn't I think maybe I must be off, or is this place not so special? Only when I finally give up on forcing that feeling do I get this energy or exhilaration when jumping into the lake or looking at shooting stars during the chilly nights. I have a bad habit of constantly searching and looking for moments and memories, instead of just looking at where I am at the moment. Lane say's, "a sacred place is ordinary place, ritually made extraordinary". I think this quote is so true and really just lovely. I find myself becoming tense and stressed when I haven't been on the Noland in too long. When I go running on the trail and the green light is all around me and the quietness hits me, I just feel so much more calm. The deer that I run up on and the snakes that I catch crossing the path, not to mention a red fox that I glimpsed are all breathing and living within that small little area of forest that I have turned into a bit of a sacred place for myself. I'll go on to talk about that more in another blog post. Lane's story just resonated with me. You cannot force things in life, this applies to a sacred place. Things have to happen naturally, and if they don't then they probably weren't meant to be. Let life flow.