Many paths lead from the foot of the mountain, but at the peak we all gaze at the single bright moon.
Ikkyu – Zen-monk poet, 1394-1481
Isn’t amazing how BIG our universe is? Isn’t amazing how BIG God is? As I get older, I realize He is so much bigger than my previous narrow understanding of Him. I remember hearing Father Barron, say, “If you think you know everything about God, then that’s not God.” It’s difficult to even try to use words to explain a God that is so infinite, so present, so EVERYWHERE…He is amazing and I stand in awe. Our words are inadequate.
I was thinking of this when I was talking to my friend who climbed Mt. Rainier. He showed me pictures and they are stunning. They are unbelievable really. I kept wondering, if I was up there, would I be paying enough attention? Would I be able to remember?
Since mountain climbing is not my thing, I asked him why he is drawn to it. What makes him want to climb? He said that when he got to the top and he saw the sun rising through the clouds, it was a “spiritual experience”.
When I saw the pictures, I can see that it must have been awe inspiring.
What this makes me realize is that we are all seeking in different ways. We are all “climbing” in a sense. I love that God is so infinite and so present that we can find Him anywhere.
This same friend doesn’t believe in God. He has concerns about organized religion and has decided it’s not for him. Yet, when he was up there in the clouds, he felt something.
Now, he didn’t see God with a white beard and a white robe. He didn’t see legions of angels and saints. Mary wasn’t there welcoming him encouraging him to say the rosary. He didn’t decide to start going to church every week.
But he felt something. I tried to put it in my language and said, “Oh that’s great, you recognized there is something bigger than yourself.” And he said, “No”. (As in, don’t put it in your words Sue.)
And I don’t have to. He can keep it in his words. He said, “It was a spiritual experience”. And that’s enough.
When before the beauty of a sunset or a mountain, you pause and exclaim, “Ah,” you are participating in divinity.
-Joseph Campbell
