In the forty minutes I watched the muskrat, he never saw me, smelled me, or heard me at all. When he was in full view of course I never moved except to breathe. My eyes would move, too, following his, but he never noticed. Only once, when he was feeding from the opposite bank about eight feet away did he suddenly rise upright, all alert- and then he immediately resumed foraging. But he never knew I was there.I never knew I was there, either. For that forty minutes last night I was as purely sensitive and mute as a photographic plate; I received impressions, but I did not print out captions. My own self-awareness had disappeared; it seems now almost as though, had I been wired to electrodes, my EEG would have been flat. I have done this sort of thing so often that I have lost self-consciousness about moving slowly and halting suddenly. And I have often noticed that even a few minutes of this self-forgetfulness is tremendously invigorating. I wonder if we do not waste most of our energy just by spending every waking minute saying hello to ourselves. Martin Buber quotes an old Hasid master who said, When you walk across the field with your mind pure and holy, then from all the stones, and all growing things, and all animals, the sparks of their souls come out and cling to you, and then they are purified and become a holy fire in you.
amen beauty belief consciousness creation curiosity disbelief energy enoughness epiphany exploration exultant faith fate fearless fire free freedom gaps god grace growth hallelujah humility illumination intricacy joy joyful joyfulness life-force light living-in-the-present-moment mindfulness multiplicity mystery nature philosopher-s-stone philosophy poem poet poetry power praise prayer prayers praying religion religious-diversity ring-the-bells science seeing seeking soul spirit stalking-the-gaps the-tree-with-the-lights-in-it tolerance walking watching wonder
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About This Quote

About Annie Dillard

Annie Dillard.

Themes

  • Beauty — Appreciating aesthetics, grace, and the sublime
  • Faith — Reflections on belief, spirituality, and trust in the unseen
  • Freedom — The value of liberty, independence, and self-determination
  • God — Spiritual reflections on the divine, faith, and creation
  • Nature — Appreciation for the natural world and our place within it
  • Philosophy — Deep thoughts on existence, knowledge, and the nature of reality
  • Poetry — The art of language, rhythm, and emotional expression
  • Power — The dynamics of influence, authority, and leadership
  • Religion — Exploring belief systems, worship, and spiritual practice
  • Science — Discovery, inquiry, and the wonders of the natural world
  • Soul — The inner self, consciousness, and spiritual essence

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