Desacralization can be Unlearned
3/12
The intersection of the sacred and the profane reveals new meaning to me the more I pause to seek it out.
It seems as though these intersections are and have always been surrounding the places we inhabit unceremoniously, shedding light on spirituality without our taking notice at all.
Heightened inner awareness of these intersections awakens a sense of mysterium in the observer.
I think desacralization is a cultural phenomenon in this country.
Awakening from it is truly possible, if one is instructed how to shake out of the insistence upon meaningless existence.
Once I returned to the child-like nature, I have found myself living in a state of perpetual wonder, finding disruptions of the profane without even trying. It’s like a muscle you have to stretch. Once you do, you find yourself with newfound range of motion, and your access the sacred is more natural.
This happens frequently in my daily life.
What struck me for the first time after three years of circling the Great Lawn is the juxtaposition of the grass with the gold-plated bricks that line the parameter. The natural environment that Eliade describes constantly prevails despite man’s imposing upon it. The grass is like a sanctuary.
Humans encounter a plot of land and pave it for ease of access, stripping away the original layer. Yet, when the sun comes out for even a moment, where else do the students make a beeline for but the nearest hint of nature?
They populate the Lawn like ants to a picnic.
Like moths to a light.
We know what we need. We cannot construct it. We cannot impose our way on the nature. We search for the spaces we have left untouched, where the greenery still grows.
Connection to the natural environment provides a space of natural connection to the sacred.
The intersection of the sacred and the profane reveals new meaning to me the more I pause to seek it out.
It seems as though these intersections are and have always been surrounding the places we inhabit unceremoniously, shedding light on spirituality without our taking notice at all.
Heightened inner awareness of these intersections awakens a sense of mysterium in the observer.
I think desacralization is a cultural phenomenon in this country.
Awakening from it is truly possible, if one is instructed how to shake out of the insistence upon meaningless existence.
Once I returned to the child-like nature, I have found myself living in a state of perpetual wonder, finding disruptions of the profane without even trying. It’s like a muscle you have to stretch. Once you do, you find yourself with newfound range of motion, and your access the sacred is more natural.
This happens frequently in my daily life.
What struck me for the first time after three years of circling the Great Lawn is the juxtaposition of the grass with the gold-plated bricks that line the parameter. The natural environment that Eliade describes constantly prevails despite man’s imposing upon it. The grass is like a sanctuary.
Humans encounter a plot of land and pave it for ease of access, stripping away the original layer. Yet, when the sun comes out for even a moment, where else do the students make a beeline for but the nearest hint of nature?
They populate the Lawn like ants to a picnic.
Like moths to a light.
We know what we need. We cannot construct it. We cannot impose our way on the nature. We search for the spaces we have left untouched, where the greenery still grows.
Connection to the natural environment provides a space of natural connection to the sacred.
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