I have never ever fallen out of love with the land and the non-human creation. What I have noticed about this relationship is my devotion to her beauty in all of its many expressions, even when she sends storms or fires that destroy my home or my neighborhood and even when I trip and bust a knee on her boulders or the sun burns my skin. I never fall out of love with her. We do have a relationship. I know that I need to increase my devotion to her wellbeing and there is also a sense of unconditional acceptance she offers, never failing to be seen in all of her glory. She places no restraints on me other than those built into the relationship from the start, like gravity. Like morning and night. I have definitely felt that my time was up in certain regions of her geography, and it was hard to leave. Not that I would "never return" but the relationship would change. My path didn't need to go through that region anymore. I'm trying to learn from this relationship as it applies to humans. How do we love and change? How do we take ownership of our part? How do we stay in love if not in the same way? How do we stay in awe of one another without the anger and disappointment wrapped up in relationship change? Have we made humans the center of the universe and therefore the center of our shame?
Image: photo by Frances. This is an image of a blue sky with a darker cloud dividing the left from the right half of the picture. The cloud has a classic silver lining while it casts a shadow. Below, in the foreground are the tops of trees in my backyard. The sky is blue, even in the area of the heavier cloud.