There are unknown forces within nature; when we give ourselves wholly to her, without reserve, she leads them to us; she shows us those forms which our watching eyes do not see, which our intelligence does not understand or suspect.

Sand sifting through fingers evokes a provocative timelessness. Mud squishing through toes brings a delicious joy on a Spring afternoon, as does the early flower or the song of nesting birds. Yet when was the last time you paused long enough to enjoy the treats created by Mother Earth?

If you are like most, it has been too long. We tend to ignore the seasons created by the soothing revolutions of Mother Earth because we have let ourselves become dominated by time as created by mankind. Time runs on and on with never a pause or variation, but human time is broken into manageable units. We create minutes, days, weeks, months, and years to punctuate the unbroken flow. We mark the beginning, middle, and end of things to find ourselves in time...Our inner time sense records intensity and importance rather than duration: an October afternoon of love among the dunes may be written larger in memory than all the weeks surrounding it.

Despite our crude attempts to master time, our memories are consistent with seasonal time, ignoring our moment by moment obsessions. We lay upon Mother Earth's mantle to watch the clouds drift by, and time ceases to exist. We become aware once more of our relationship to the natural ebb and flow of life and the sensuous feel of nature beneath. She nourishes life itself, providing all we need to exist, including peace and inspiration.

John Muir was quoted as saying, "Let Children walk with Nature, let them see the beautiful blendings and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and stream of our blessed star will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life...All is divine harmony."

By retreating daily into the wonders of Mother Earth, perhaps in a backyard garden, perhaps a walk in the wilderness, we open ourselves to a satisfying opportunity to create, to be at one with the Universe. Guidance comes to us most clearly in solitude. It is called 'the still, small voice' because we must quiet our minds and our lives enough to hear it....Increasing and regularizing our times of solitude and quiet increases our ability to receive guidance. One way to think of it is that we are creating a sort of spiritual clearing. I have a centering song which goes:

In the center of your heart
Is a still small part,
Like a meadow in a forest made of green
In the center of your heart,
Is a still small part,
And that is where your soul must go to dream

That stillness is Nature herself, devoid of the relentless tick of manmade time, swathed instead in the gentle turn of the seasons. That stillness, that rhythm is home for our mortal bodies and our immortal souls. Home is the place where we remember we are immortal, boundless, limitless, and able to live our lives with a sense of peace and wonder.

Within each grain of sand are the building blocks of life. As each shifts, combines or changes, it unleashes powerful forces--capable of destruction--yet more often raising us to dizzying heights. It would be a shame if we missed the experience simply because we were to busy to celebrate with Nature.

When was the last time you held your grain of sand?