GOD
AND THE FOREST
by
Antonio C. Antonio
April
17, 2014
“The
clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --- John Muir
John
Muir’s assertion might be difficult for urban dwellers to appreciate. Why?
Because most of them have not experienced being in a forest and they
also do not have the slightest idea what a forest wilderness looks like. But this could just be a pragmatic
worldview, isn’t it? Mr. Muir’s use of
the terms “forest wilderness” and “universe” may well be simple metaphor…
therefore, the application of a word or phrase to an object or concept it does
not literally denote. In his use of
these words and terms, he could have meant “God”, “Heaven”, “man”, “our world”,
“religion”, etc. (Please note that a
majority of these words have religious connotation.) Seemingly subjective, perceptive meanings to
words and phrases will always be dictated by individual backgrounds and
influences.
Most
upland dwellers revere the forest as spiritual and sacred. It will not be hard to understand this since the
forest provides them with means of survival… food, shelter and a venue to
congregate, socialize and interact with others.
Their culture and spiritual beliefs are moulded by their forest
environment and landscape. There are
some who would even say (individually or collectively) that the forest is
regarded as their god, their heaven, their world and their religion. If we were to consider the spiritual beliefs
of the upland forest dwellers as a contextual framework, a view takes shape
that God and the forest are closely related... or, at the very least, viewed on
the same spiritual plane.
We
are, at this point, just about ready to get lost in this confusing collage of words
and word meanings. Perhaps, the best way
out is to make assumptions. So going
back to Mr. Muir’s statement and fusing this with the spiritual beliefs of the
upland forest dwellers, it is quite possible that the word “universe” could
very well mean “God” and the “forest wilderness” means “the world we live in.” This is also consistent with the core
religious beliefs of the upland forest dwellers that there is no significant difference
between their God (the provider) and the forest (the provider as well).
Upland
forest dwellers are no different from their brothers who live in the lowland
plains when it comes to spirituality and religious beliefs. In fact, the presence of much more
socio-economic and political activities and problems in the plains provide more
distractions than the simple lifestyle of the upland dwellers. These activities and problems oftentimes
weaken their religious beliefs and devotions too. The simplicity of upland forest life provides
for simple mindsets such as the relationship between God and the forest.
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