Now I Walk in Beauty

Hello again, friends and loved ones.

I’m writing this from my bed in Peru, home “sick” with some odd sort of rash that I’m hoping is not my third case of chicken pox (I thought you were only supposed to get it once, but I got it twice as a kid, so maybe third time is the charm?) or some sort of Amazonian equivalent. But just in case, I figured it would be better for me not to go to work and risk infecting the 250 or so kids at Collique. That may qualify as a pandemic.

But in all fairness, it’s nice to get a chance to rest. I’m working pretty much all the time, and usually spend my one day off tying up all my loose ends and talking to the boy I love , so I’m very grateful for this chance to take a little time for myself and share a little more about my experience in Peru. I’m trying to turn over a new leaf and write shorter blogs more often, so we’ll see how this goes!

Today I want to share with you a little bit about our first YAV retreat, which was two weeks ago (William and Mary Homecoming) in Huánaco, a province where Sarah Baja is working with an organization called Paz y Esperanza (Literally “Peace and Hope”) to help provide shelter and nurture for sexually abused young girls. We stayed at an organic farm where several of the girls live and enjoyed a time of fellowship with each other and others on the Granja (farm).

One of the many highlights of the retreat was the day we traveled to the Selva (“jungle”…yes, friends, that would be the Amazon Rainforest we’re talking about!) for a day-long “hike.” I put hike in quotes because this was different than any hike I’d ever participated in – we climbed waterfalls! I’m talking literally reverse-repelling straight up 7 or so pretty substantial waterfalls and climbing on hands and knees up another 5 or so smaller ones. Try as I might, I cannot find the right words to describe this experience. Part of it was the sheer immensity (pardon my language, but “badass factor”) of what I was doing – climbing waterfalls in the Amazon Rainforest. Part of it was the joy of being again in community with my fellow YAVs and sharing this once-in-a-lifetime experience with them. Part of it was the thrill of pulling myself up the waterfall with my own hands and feet. Part of it was the wonderful sensation of the water pouring over me (remember, I take bucket showers in Peru…this was the closest I’ve been to our American idea of “shower” in a long time!), or of jumping into the deep parts where we had the opportunity to swim.

More than anything, though, I think I was greatly affected by the experience of being truly present in the natural world. There’s something very humbling about being only one of millions (probably more than that!) of forms of life present in one place. Something powerful about aligning yourself parallel with a waterfall and feeling that, for the moments you are climbing, you are a part of that natural wonder. Something very simple and natural about drinking the fresh, pure water pouring forth from one of the rocks along the way. By immersing myself in nature, I think I somehow learned a little bit more about what it really means to be human.

After climbing all 12 waterfalls we headed down the rock-and-mud path to where we had begun. The way down was slippery (see earlier comment about mud), but less treacherous (except for the part where I almost slid off the mountain…thank you Sarah Baja for saving my life!), so the group spread out a bit, and I found myself walking most of the way down alone, soaking wet and muddy, just taking in the immensity of life that was all around me. I paused for a moment to marvel at the mountains surrounding me. I ducked under a overhang of leaves. A bright blue butterfly landed on my water bottle, letting me admire it for a full 30 seconds before flying away. I slipped in the mud. I closed my eyes, listened to the singing of the birds and bugs, and breathed in the fresh air.

As I continued to walk, an old American Indian spiritual song came into my heart: “Now I walk in beauty, beauty is before me, beauty is behind me, above and below me.” (Sidenote: Check out how the amazing sample of this song in the Indigo Girls’ song “Jonas and Ezekiel.” Gives me chills every time!) With every step, with every breath, this song became my being and my prayer. I truly was surrounded by beauty, by life, by all that is divine. Before me, behind me, above me, below me. I felt the sudden urge, like Moses at the burning bush, to take off my shoes, for I was truly walking on holy ground. (I didn’t actually take off my shoes…see earlier comment about the mud.) I was participating in nature. Participating in God. Call it panentheism, if you will, but even after 2 months of spending 6 days a week working in the church, this simple walk down the mountain was undoubtedly the most spiritual experience I’ve had in Peru.

Needless to say, it was hard to return to the city at the end of the retreat. Don’t get me wrong – Lima certainly has its charm, and I know that the work I’m called to do this year is in the trash-covered, dirt roads of the shantytowns, not in the rivers of the jungle. But it’s hard to return to the city after seeing nature at its finest, as it was created and as it was intended to be. Go outside for a little bit – really! Maybe you’ll experience the same thing.

Runnin’ to the edge of the earth
Swimmin’ to the edge of the sea
Laughin’ under a starry sky:
This world was meant for me.

This world was meant for all of us, and us for the natural world. So go outside. Take some time. Listen. And walk in beauty.