I wish we could each take the time to stop, put down our phones, turn off the tv or radio, pull over the car or refuse the next business meeting or call.
Stop thinking about work, bills, all the gadgetry of life, and just sit with the reality important stuff. When we take the time to do this, and if we don’t fight it too hard, we are left with essential truths, universal principles and undeniable knowledge about what is important in this life and beyond.
I’ve always thought that most atheists spend far too much time and effort thinking about subjects they say don’t matter or exist, and I personally think that is because they are waging an internal battle between what their mind and their soul are telling them. For me, without the presence of God, there is no ultimate meaning in life. Any argument to the contrary is simply nonsensical when taken to its logical conclusion. Why morality important if there is no ultimate accountability?
If you asked me why I feel a profound connection to ranching, I’d have to say that a life spent close to the natural earth, in pursuit of growing things, feeding people and having the privilege of watching nature and the intricacies of the circle of life away from the noise, distraction, evil and banality of dense human populations, allows my soul to connect on a very regular basis with the divine.
For me, that connection is the deep, interwoven spark of my soul touching the finger tip of God.
That happens more profoundly in the tiny things. Kissing and smelling a baby’s head, watching honeybees swim through morning sunlight as they pollinate lavender in bloom, taking a deep breath after a rainstorm, petting my dogs, watching a newborn calf or foal nuzzle and suckle it’s mother, lightly tilling a field and planting it with seed and watching it grow, or quietly holding the hand of someone you love.
These concepts all seem disparate; but in reality, they are connected. They are based in tiny but powerful demonstrations that we are God’s creation here, and He sets before us everyday, the miraculous in plain sight, if we are willing to see it as such. If scientists would spend a fraction of their time, delving into the essential truth of our actual origins, rather than suggesting that essential truths are unknowable, we might be far healthier and happier here on earth. If we pushed back on dehumanizing inventions like AI or self destructive theories like human caused climate change, we might naturally find our place among all of God’s miracles.
I suppose that intuition is very important to me. My intuition tells me that I am not alone, I am cared for by something much bigger than myself, my soul is eternal and made in God’s image. My mind can only go so far when I step out the door each morning. It can appreciate, plan, reason and execute the decisions of the day; but, only my soul can draw the connection to the divine and the ultimate purpose in life from what I see, hear and do on a daily basis.
The other day I looked at a picture of a young man we lost recently. In the picture, he was lying in a hospital bed, nasal cannula in place, in a green hospital gown. While others may have focused on his dire physical condition, all I saw was peace and joy in him. I imagined that he was gazing at his wife and new son, and that in that hazy moment, he felt absolute clarity. Those are divine moments that cannot be imagined or dismissed. He held the essence of what is essential and true in his gaze. I know that.
The things we know are sometimes like the gossamer wings of a butterfly and sometimes as rock solid as the earth we stand on. Their construction depends on where we are in our lives; whether we are balanced and focused or instead engaged in the social, technological, economic and political noise that is today’s mainstream culture.
It’s easy to get swept up in the wave that is popular culture; to place a high value on things, to allow our minds to be pulled into positions that draw us away from the eternal and the good, to be pushed into corners by forces that seek to define and diminish us based on ultimately unimportant things. I think it’s essential that we take some time each day to reflect, pray and allow ourselves to return to our essence, our human core; to that part of us that innately understands that we are a soul, a spiritual being made by a divine creator, temporarily living inside a garment called a body, living in a world that has been transformed by technology, celebrity and material evils. When we are able to reflect upon our spiritual self, praise our creator, seek guidance and wisdom, we can find peace and joy. For some that takes time, digging and unpacking the cares of this world, for others it requires a deep breath as they start their day on a farm or ranch, and for still others, it simply requires consciousness to connect this world with the eternal essence of what we KNOW versus what we think.
Kris Stewart is a rancher in Paradise Valley, Nevada.