BIRDS AND WILDFLOWERS
Birds and Wildflowers
Bird a symbol of freedom effortlessly rules the air
without owning anything
Bird takes what is given to them
without controlling anything
while being subservient to the sun, rain, clouds, moon,
harsh and gentle, spectacular and rudimentary,
it is the ruler above everything
A ruler and a subject of freedom, perhaps because
it knows its limits with no complaints,
but the air of silence
light and letting go as if
the spread of wings to prove.
Wildflowers, wild but doesn’t mean uncared for,
just is
simply
where simplicity is, there is no deception
celebrates by opening themselves brightly and vulnerably
for others to savor them, to create joy without any utterance of words
oh, how words rob mystery
while showcasing what it means for different beings to be in union
just is
obediently
where obedience is, there is love
whether noticed or not, without judgment
Could it be elegance? Perhaps,
it is grace
sustained by grace and eventually becoming grace.
Ever since I developed an appreciation for nature, the world of poetry opened up to me, along with some Scripture passages I had taken for granted. As a city boy all my life, my encounters and fleeting appreciation of nature mostly came during road trips to national parks for camping and hiking. Those trips were few and far between, though. One reason Yangpyeong remains so special to me is that it unlocked and awakened a yearning within me that I did not know existed. Additionally, there is a mystery, savagery, and beauty to the four seasons that I have forgotten, due to the temperate weather Los Angeles provided for much of my life.
I have been a fan of Søren Kierkegaard for some time. Kierkegaard wrote extensively in theology, philosophy, devotional writings, psychology, social critiquing, etc and his influence reached multiple disciplines in his day and beyond. While he remained in the Christian faith (Lutheranism), he was an astute and fierce critic of the system-building mindset of Christendom. He resided on “the edge of the inside, " giving him a detached, keen ability to question and critique. One of his main emphases if not the main was his question of the existence of human beings. He is known as the “father of existentialism” who lived far before his time and impacted postmodernism in our time. I owe the above poem to his fine devotional book, The Lily of the Field and the Bird of the Air: Three Godly Discourses.
It was not that Jesus lacked wisdom clues of what to refer to in his brilliant Sermon on the Mount when he pointed to the lily and the bird and spoke with elegance and power. Jesus was precise and intentional. Nature, as God’s magnificent creation, breathes, revels, and reveals God’s beauty and mystery. Grace is everywhere if we choose to see it. Truth is everywhere if we choose to pay attention and notice. I would venture to guess that Jesus could have chosen a ubiquitous olive tree and a butterfly. The ultimate point is not the lily or the bird, but nature—allowing it to teach us.
Stringing together the three strands of nature, Kierkegaard, and Jesus’ teachings converged as part of my assignment this week at the School of Spiritual Direction. I was to engage in Lectio Divina (sacred reading), and I chose the passage from Matthew 6:25-29. I did not intend to write a poem; rather, it arose within me as a prayerful reflection on this passage.