I'm still a little unsure of how I define spirituality for myself, but what I do know is that sometimes, when I'm out in the beauty of the world around us or looking up into the rest of the universe, I feel a deep spiritual connection to it. Sometimes the wonder and amazement of nature is truly a spiritual experience.
Nothing quite makes me feel this way as much as the beauty of autumn. A couple of years ago my best friend and I decided to take a fall foliage road trip. We live in southwestern Pennsylvania, but we got in the car, drove up through the Poconos, made a pit stop in NYC because I've never been before, drove up through every single state in New England and looped back down. It was truly the trip of a lifetime. We got to camp out right along the coast of Connecticut, went horse back riding in Rhode Island, visited some popular tourist spots in Boston, saw where the witch trials happened in Salem, visited many colonial era graveyards throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire, got stuck in the crowds surrounding a harvest and farm animal annual festival in Maine, spent the night in a cabin in the woods with a wonderful fireplace, saw waterfalls and plenty of covered bridges throughout every state, but by the far the best part of the trip was the Kancamagus scenic byway.
This byway cuts through the nature, mountains, woods, rivers, and creeks of New Hampshire and lets you out in Vermont. There are many places along the way to stop your car, get out, and take in all of the beautiful nature surrounding you. You can crawl over rocks, hike to waterfalls, take pictures, and take in the scenery. We made the trip around the second week of October so the fall foliage was in full bloom. I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it was and while we took many pictures, they can't even do it justice. You have to see it for yourself and I would honestly recommend the trip to everyone.
Traveling the Kancamagus scenic byway during the peak of the fall foliage was honestly and truthfully a spiritual experience unlike anything else I've ever experienced. I believe that pausing to appreciate the beauty of nature is absolutely a spiritual practice. Fall foliage was once described to me by my aunt as looking as though "God reached down with a paint brush and painted each leaf its own beautiful color for us to admire his work." I've heard many people describe nature as "wondrous", "beautiful", "amazing", and "evidence that there must be a divine creator to make something so incredible". Whether or not you believe that's true is a personal decision up to you alone, and of course there are scientific explanations for practically every beautiful thing in nature you can think of, but it's almost undeniable that something about appreciating nature can be described as a spiritual experience for many of us, including atheists.
One passage from literature which has always stuck out to me and helped to change my outlook on religion and spirituality is from The Color Purple by Alice Walker (which happens to be my favorite book, due in large part to its ability to change my religious views). In the chapter where the title comes from, the character Shug explains her views on religion to the main character Celie. She says she doesn't believe that god is a white man as was taught to her growing up. She believes that god is more of an "it" than a "he" or a "she" and that you can't find god just by going to church. God is already in every one of us and we have to look inside ourselves to find god. God is already inside of everything as well and god is all around us. God is in the trees, god is in the earth, and god is in everyone, connecting all of us and everything around us to one another. She also believes that god creates all the things we enjoy and we can praise god by pausing to appreciate all the things its created for us. She says she believes it pisses god off if we pass by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't stop to notice it and appreciate it's beauty, which god has created for us to enjoy.
That's something that I can honestly say I agree with. I might not be sure on what or who exactly I believe the Divine is, whether or not I believe it's a single all-powerful male god as is the predominant belief of much of modern Western culture or something else entirely, but the one thing I do believe is that one of the best ways to show praise and appreciation for the Divine would be to stop and appreciate its creation. Appreciation for the wonderful world around us, the people, the animals, and all of nature is, in my opinion, probably more powerful than prayer when it comes to giving thanks.
This is why when I'm outside at night, I pause frequently to look up and admire the night sky. I've noticed its especially beautiful on the nights when you can see a mixture of clouds and stars. This is why I often look up during the sunrise and sunset if I have the opportunity to do so. While I worked an overnight job causing me to often drive home during the sunrise, I've noticed the sky often has a beautiful purple color while the sun is rising which always reminds me of my grandmother because purple was her favorite color. I often try to look up during the day to see the shapes in the clouds and search for constellations at night. I always look at the way the snow clings to bare tree branches in winter and the way the snow glitters in the sunlight because I find those to be some of the most beautiful things about winter. When I visit the ocean and everyone has left the beach at night, I pause to listen to the sound of the waves rolling in and crashing on the shore. And of course, as many others do, I admire the beautiful colors and scents of various flowers in the spring.
There truly is beauty and wonder in the universe all around us and it is an amazing thing to behold. It's something that I personally consider to be a truly spiritual experience. Nothing makes me feel that more strongly than the beauty of autumn. So now that the leaves are changing color, take some time out of your day to go for a walk outside and just admire the beauty of nature whether you believe someone divinely created it or not. Trust me, you'll feel better for it. Spending time in nature is like food for your soul.
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