The Spirit Blows

Anyone who has ever tried to photograph flowers or plants in their natural setting knows how much patience you need: to walk slowly and discover the small beauties at your feet--to adjust lenses and tripod to get the right angle and the best background and the perfect light--and mostly, to wait for the air to be still. Those who have never tried this are probably really surprised; after all, how often do we remark on a hot day, "If only there were a small breeze...." But stare at the fragile petals of a delicate flower through a closeup lens, and you'll be amazed at how long you'll have to wait before the wind really does stop blowing. Most days, the wind never stops at all, and I have to time the shutter release to catch the flower at that still point when it changes directions, or else hope that a faster shutter speed (at the expense of losing depth-of-field detail) can freeze the flower in its motion. Compromises....

It's still amazing to me how constantly the wind blows, and I usually don't even notice. I guess it's the same with the Spirit, the "wind" that moved across the waters, the "breath" that animated life, the energy that continues to drive the universe. It's not something we're aware of, unless we pay attention--and then we can't miss it, because it's everywhere.

Paying attention is difficult, because we have no time or even inclination to do this. We're impatient, rushing through the day without even looking around. But just stop for a moment: feel the breeze brush across your skin and through your hair, and feel the Spirit blowing through your soul.

Isn't that refreshing?

God-Ripples

Into the wild pool of Creation, God tossed the Word.

What ripples reach my shore?

I wrote those words a number of years ago (has it been a decade already?), but the question haunts me still: does the Spirit touch my life? How?

There have been times when God has seemed much more present to me, when God as an entity has seemed much more involved in my day-to-day. During those times, I experienced "signs" of the Spirit--or at least I interpreted them as such, as indications that God was at least aware of my existence. To me, God transcended time and space but still cared more about me than the sparrows of the air and the lilies of the field.

I no longer believe in that transcendent God. Rather, I sense God's immanence, that Divine Energy coursing through all of Creation. God is in Creation, and Creation is in God. The Spirit rises up through this water lily and rises up through me at the same time, and we are connected, and we are One. I am in God, and God is in me, just as every living being is in God, and God is in every living being. There is only One.

As part of the One, as a living flame of the Divine Spark, I am a co-creator of the world and of its future. If I truly believe this, then I have a heavy, unavoidable, and divine responsibility: to illuminate the "darkness," to carry the torch, to share the Spirit, to embody love. No prayers of petition are necessary or even helpful: God's not going to step in and overturn the laws of nature just for my benefit, or for anyone else's. If the state of the world needs improving, I've got to pitch in and make it happen.

Do the ripples of the Spirit reach me? Perhaps the greater question is, where do these ripples carry me? What does the Spirit/my spirit impel me to do, today, and next week, and next year?

Which leads me back to yesterday's posting. After all, it's simply a matter of how I'm going to spend my life.

Blessed be,

Anthony

The Fleetingness of Time

It's hard for me to believe that spring has flown by so quickly. Seems like just yesterday that we were shoveling snow, and now so many of the spring flowers have already bloomed and faded. Their splendid beauty is truly fleeting.

But so is time, and so is life. It's not that I've been noting how quickly time flies (sometimes it really drags), but I've been asking myself daily--sometimes hourly--how I want to spend my time, how I want to spend my life. As far as I know, I get only one chance at this. So what am I going to do with the few precious hours granted to me today? What am I going to do with my once-in-a-lifetime?

When I took this photo of daffodils beneath a pine tree, I set out very early for the park so as to be there at dawn. Since it was April in Missouri, it was still cold--and waiting for the sun to rise, squatting close to the ground, I was really shivering! But the beauty of that first light as it struck the yellow flowers and glimmered off the green pine needles was breathtaking. I can say unequivocally that that morning, I spent my time well. If that was my once-in-a-lifetime daffodils-in-the-dawn experience, then it was worth the loss of sleep and all the shivering.

Can I say the same about the way I spend every moment? Certainly not, though there have been many similar, sometimes unexpected experiences connected to photographing nature. Am I getting better at choosing how to spend my time? Maybe yes, maybe no, but at least I am more and more aware of the question. But awareness--or maybe I should call it "awakeness"--is just the beginning.

Perhaps this is not so spiritual as what I've written before, but I do believe that the way I spend my life, and the decisions I make about what to do with my time definitely have a spiritual component. Am I choosing to connect with the Divine? Do my choices bring me closer to the Spirit? I think I need to be awakened to these possibilities.

So what am I going to do with the rest of my day?

March Snowfall

It's been too long since my last entry, but this morning's snowfall has inspired me to put some thoughts down.

The snow is falling heavily here, in fat wet flakes, sticking to branches and bushes and making a beautiful white blanket over the land. I'm inside now, but this snow reminds me of the times when I was able to be out in the falling snow.

One time that sticks in my mind happened during high school. I was on the track team of my rural-suburban high school, and we used to run the back country roads for training. We went out in all weather. One afternoon of a day of heavy snow (we never closed for snow in upstate New York), we were out running on a farm road not far from school (yes, a real farm road, with a cow farm at one end). The road was very curvy, and you could see only a short distance ahead before the road disappeared around the bend. The snow further diminished the visibility. I was running alone, as usual (I was among the slowest on the team), and as I ran along that road, with the snowflakes falling fast around me, I found myself in a small world of silent and puffy whiteness. It was like being in a cloud, and the sense of being alone and yet connected with the rest of Creation was very strong. It was an awesome feeling.

Another time occurred many years later, when I was living in Missouri. We had a heavy snowfall, and the office was closed. But the roads were passable, so I drove to Shaw Arboretum, a large "garden" a few miles outside of St. Louis, to walk around and enjoy the weather. The path through the woods was difficult to follow, and the snow was deep, but it was amazing being alone in the "wilderness" in the middle of a "blizzard." Again, there was an enormous sense of being completely alone yet also that feeling of being part of something grand, of being at one with the trees, with the snow, with the universe. A real sense of being Alive!

I guess these are two examples of the spiritual tensions I often feel. On the one hand, this drive to be an individual, to be myself, to be noticed as separate or as unique. On the other hand, this desire to be connected, to be part of something much bigger than myself. I experience these tensions as part of daily life, whether at work, in my relationships with my family, at church, or simply in the noisiness of my own mind. I think I need both extremes somehow, even though the "conflict" can be exhausting sometimes.

Do other people experience this tension? I'd be interested in reading about your experiences.

Blessed be,

Anthony

February 10, 2007

Allow me to introduce myself. I am Anthony F. Chiffolo, a writer and nature photographer (among other pursuits).

To start with the writing: I am the author, co-author, or editor/compiler of 10 published books, all having to do with religion and spirituality. They are:

Cooking with the Bible: Biblical Food, Feasts, and Lore (co-author with The Rev. Rayner W. Hesse, Jr.)

100 Names of Mary: Stories and Prayers

Be Mindful of Us: Prayers to the Saints

At Prayer with the Saints

Advent and Christmas with the Saints

Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Padre Pio

Padre Pio: In My Own Words (winner of the Whitney Radio Author of the Year 2000 Award)

Pope John XXIII: In My Own Words

Pope John Paul II: In My Own Words

We Thank You, God, for These: Blessings and Prayers for Family Pets (co-author with The Rev. Rayner W. Hesse, Jr.)

I have also published a number of pamphlets in the "An Hour with..." series; these are devotional pieces and are centered on the spirituality of a particular saint. Those I have written about include Saint Francis, Saint Therese of Lisieux, Saint Patrick, Saint Katharine Drexel, Pierre Toussaint, Blessed Faustina Kowalska, Saint Padre Pio, Saint John Neumann, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Hildegard of Bingen, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, and Mary the Mother of Jesus. (In case it's not obvious by now, I've spent a lot of time studying the saints of the Roman Catholic tradition.)

I have also written book reviews for www.nimblespirit.com (run by my friend Michael Wilt, who has also graciously "published" some of my photos on his site).

As for photography, I have been photographing nature for more than 20 years, from the glaciers of Alaska to the beaches of St. Thomas. My photos have appeared on the covers and in the pages of books such as Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, Shrines of the Holy Land, Marian Shrines of the United States, Sadhana, Behold the Cross, and Affirmations from the Heart of God, and in magazines such as Bugle, Turkey Call, and Liguorian. My photos have appeared on exhibit at the prestigious Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Maryland; the Hudson River Wildlife Festival in Kingston, New York; the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s In Celebration of the Bay in Annapolis, Maryland; and The Loft's Annual "Coming Out" Exhibit at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center in White Plains, New York.

What do I hope to do with this blog? Essentially, I'd like to work on combining my nature photography with my spirituality. Ideally, I'd love to publish a book of my photography someday, but until then, I'll "publish" my photos here, along with my thoughts about the Divine in nature, and the nature of the Divine. I hope that readers find my thoughts not only interesting but challenging, even provocative, if not provoking. And if we can develop a dialogue that recognizes the divine spark in every living being, even better!

I'll start off with one of my published photos, one that speaks to me of the tranquillity to be found in quietly contemplating the divine beauty of the natural world. Hopefully, it will also be a reminder to those of us now dealing with the frigid arctic cold that life is an eternal cycle and that spring will be here before we know it.

All photographs are copyright 2007 by Anthony F. Chiffolo and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the photographer.