Karen Kiefer, the director of Boston College’s Church in the 21st Century Center, has written a best-selling children’s book entitled “Drawing God.” In this story, a young girl uses visual art to depict how she sees God. All of us interpret God’s presence in different ways, and like most everyone else, my understanding of God is always changing. Recently, I have been seeing God while hiking in the great outdoors.
Going outside has always been one of America’s favorite pastimes. Personally, while I didn’t mind the outdoors, I preferred to stay inside when I was young. As I grew older, I became more enamored with natural settings. Throughout high school I explored my school’s many acres of undeveloped forest with my friends. In my freshman year of college, I found myself taking many late-night walks to clear my head of the stresses from my radically-changed way of life. I treated them as a prayer, asking God at first subconsciously and, later, consciously to guide me to something I could hold onto in uncertain times.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, after getting sent home from my freshman year at BC, I found myself going outside far more than I used to at home. I didn’t go anywhere public so as to not break the quarantine. I walked around my neighborhood, which took some time getting more acquainted with. Soon I found myself hiking long trails in my mask, socially-distancing in kayaks with new friends, and trekking up higher and higher mountains.
The top of Mount Wachusett isn’t the highest I’ve ever been, but during the fall season it provides one of the most spectacular views. Like the girl in “Drawing God,” the painted strips of orange, red, and yellow leaves across the landscape are divine to me. Seeing the expansive earthly creation that God has given us for a home, I do feel closer to God. It’s not due to the height of the mountain; contrary to the flawed Tower-of-Babel logic, being physically closer to heaven is not my goal. Witnessing so much of God’s creation at once, so much more than I usually can see from the ground, is surreal and strangely comforting.
I’ve heard astronauts comment on how seeing the entire earth from space changes their perspective of themselves forever. I’m no astronaut, but I’m starting to understand where they’re coming from. I don’t necessarily feel smaller or insignificant when I’m in nature, but I do feel my stresses and problems fade away as I walk, and I really do think I’m experiencing something God meant for every human being to feel. For me, the essence of a calming activity is walking in the woods with the person I’m closest with.
I am constantly in awe of the visual and experiential gifts we have been given through nature. At the risk of sounding three times my age, I think we should all go outside a little more, especially as lockdowns come to an end and COVID-19 cases continue to fall in the United States. Next time you’re cooped up inside, working or studying for hours on end, I recommend a walk to clear your mind – with a few trees and some dirt to boot.
Grant is a senior studying Information Systems at the Carroll School of Management. He keeps busy by studying and writing for The Torch.
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Incredibly well-said and very meaningful!