Thursday, January 3, 2008

A Graced Encounter with Nature

Hello Everyone! My name is Matt Riley and I am the Student Coordinator for the Renewal Conference. As we plan, email, schedule, and coordinate for the upcoming conference it is often easy to lose sight of the things that inspire us. In the weeks to come, I will be posting the thoughts, inspirations, and words of Yale students to remind us why nature matters and why we are dedicated to putting this conference together.

Our first entry comes for Yale Divinity student Josh Hill. Josh, who was studying for an winter exam, happened to glance out a window. His eyes fell upon an elegant scene under an oak tree on the blustery, frozen Divinity Quad. Inspired by Karl Rahner, Josh writes, "I knew that my awareness of beauty -- and God -- was no happenstance. It was a graced encounter with nature." By allowing natural values to lay claim to his religious (and moral) identity, Josh was inspired to write this poem:

“Leaves”

Thin ice
forms a layer
on top.

Brittle memories
of majestic oaks
skate to music
of wind.

Stillness signals silence.
He halts, arrested
beholding
praising God.



1 comment:

Unknown said...

Great poem, Good work, e have been given the responsibility to care for our earth and will be held accountable some day for our actions in either making our world a safer and better place to live or just being consumers of all its resources. Bottom line is by protecting the earth, we are protecting our future children the quality of their lives. Let us remember that this is our ultimate purpose.