Opening ourselves to the world around us

TRUTH reveals itself in experiencing reality with senses wide open to sight, sound, scent, taste, and touch. Consciously, capture those connections consonant with our true sense of being. In awe, we invite wonder to ignite curiosity, imagination and emotion in being, not as spectator, but as a participant bound in the mystery beyond our grasp toward something beautiful.
BEAUTY may arise from intrinsic qualities within things or objects, but it is captured by the eye. Perception is the portal that places us in the presence of beauty in nature. Beauty comes to life as an activity between the observer and the observed in creating context as attraction drawn toward goodness.
GOODNESS is discovered through understanding the value of ethics as fundamental, not by calculating and controlling, but in respectful relationship with one another. Compassion brings energy and life in concert to create harmony in the drama of living that emerges from a sense of belonging.
BELONGING is that feeling intertwined within nature, not separate from nor superior to, but integral with something far beyond self. A sense of belonging nurtures personal well-being, community cohesion and ecological balance. Reciprocity, receiving and giving creates bonds of interrelationship in being mindful of that special feeling called love.
LOVE of nature, or biophilia, engages all of our senses. Nature is where separation dissolves into interrelationship with everything. Being human is to love and in a magical sort of way, participation in the web of life where we discover division and union are actually complementary, when we choose to experience it gracefully.
GRATITUDE grows as feelings find their way to love, being reaches out to belonging, ethics guide us toward goodness, perception opens pathways to beauty, and truth unfolds toward understanding. Vincent Van Gogh observed, “If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.”
Harold Honkola
Stillwater