A different approach to nature and creation
We need a deeper, more spiritual connection with nature and our creation. We must regard our environment as a sacred place. We must perceive the beauty that surrounds us as something that reflects a grand, indeed divine, plan.
We must therefore look at the world with fresh eyes – not from the perspective of a desire to possess or dominate, but with eyes that marvel and admire, that continually perceive the new and the beautiful in our world.
Through my works, I wish to portray creation and give it a voice in such a way that things begin to shine. When nature reveals itself to us, perhaps we too will begin to treat it with greater care. For nature reflects back to us how we treat it. Nature is our teacher. We can admire the coming and going, the blossoming and fading, the delicacy of a flower and the great strength of a tree. In this way, we are led into the mystery of our own existence.
In this way, the mystery of God can also be glimpsed through the mystery of nature. It is important to me that my work gives a voice to creation. It is a voice that invites us into quiet contemplation, to observe the beauty and richness, to take our time, and to delve deeper into the mystery of nature. It is important to me to foster an attitude of reverence and empathy towards nature – both the nature that surrounds us and the nature that lies within us.
When we look at nature, we are always looking at ourselves as well, for we are part of nature. It is about our inner connection to it. Nature acts as a mirror for the sensitive and easily disturbed mind.
The surroundings in which we grew up as children – hills and woods, open fields, perhaps a stream – also remind us of the feeling of security and love, insofar as we were able to experience them. Perhaps, however, nature was also a place of refuge following a heartbreak, or a childhood lacking in protection. It is thus full of experiences and memories. I remember old wounds, and as a result, nature is also a place of refuge and security. Here, I am allowed simply to be, with all my feelings. Encountering nature gives resonance to these feelings and thus broadens the world of our innermost experience.
It would be wonderful if we could develop a love for creation in which God’s love flows towards us.
I found myself reflected in the following lines by Simone Weil, taken from Gravity and Grace, and so I would like to share them with you:
What the pencil is to me when, with my eyes closed, I trace the table with its tip – that is what it is to be for Christ. We have the opportunity to be mediators between God and that part of creation entrusted to us. It requires our consent for Him to perceive His creation through us. With our consent, He works this miracle. It would have been enough for me simply to withdraw from my own soul for this table here before me to experience the incomparable joy of being seen by God. God can love nothing in us but this consent to withdraw, to let Him pass through, just as He Himself, as Creator, withdrew to allow us to exist. This twofold act has no other purpose than love, just as a father gives his child that which enables the child to give him a present on his birthday. God, who is nothing other than love, has created nothing other than love.