What’s So Special About Nature Spirits: An Imbolc Question

by Rev. Jean Drum Pagano, originally published on his blog “From A Common Well”

An Imbolc Question

An Imbolc Question comes to mind: what is so special about the Nature Spirits? As the deep freeze of winter, here in the Midwestern United States, sidles up to Imbolc, I think about the Spirits of Nature.

I always say that the Nature Spirits teach us about the cycles of life. We see it in the reflection of Nature around us that the changing of the seasons is the story of the Nature Spirits. Come spring and summer, come autumn and winter, the Nature Spirits reflect these stages beautifully. The trees and other plants go through the cycles of nature with blossom and flower, fruit, and harvest, fall and quiescence, dormancy and death.

A trickle of water in the Stream

I feel that Imbolc, in a land of cold and ice, is the trickle of water in the stream and the ice begins to melt. As George Harrison said, “It’s been a long, cold, lonely winter.” It is the first stirrings of life, and it is the first sign of the lengthening days.

The frozen stream waits patiently for the melting of the ice. It is in no hurry and the thaw will come in its own time. All things in their own time. While we become cognizant of the cycles, we realise that there is variation in those cycles.

Yet, there is another important thing that the Spirits of Nature bring to us: Living in the Way. And what exactly is Living in the Way? I see it as the Watercourse Way, the path of least resistance. with the Nature Spirits, there is no pretense. They merely go about being the Spirits of Nature. They teach by being impeccable.  Guidance comes by doing what they do best – living within the cycles of the season.

Nature Spirits do what they do best: they are

If we watch them, they do what they do. Humans call it “instinct” and see it as a failing, as a mechanical approach to an otherwise complex world. I think this interpretation is mistaken. The Nature Sprits flow and flow, just like that river. Whether it is frozen, raging, dry, or flowing gently, the river does what the river does best. It flows. And the Nature Spirits do what they do best: they are.

Lao Tsu said, “Nature uses few words”. I think this is true. In fact, I think nature uses no words. The Nature Spirits need no language to do what they do. They know what needs to be done, and they do it.

I am under no illusion that the lives or circumstances under which the Nature Spirits exist are as simple as the flowing of a stream. Life, in this middle realm, is not easy. As humans, we create convention and structures and systems under which we can live better. The more complex the structure, the further from the beauty and simplicity of the natural world.

Moral codes and compassion

There is no social safety net in the natural world. Quite the opposite, there are few if any safety nets. There are no obvious or a priori moral codes in the world of the Nature Spirits. Each seems to exist according to its nature, and each entity strives to survive, in its own way.

This does not mean that there are no acts of compassion or kindness in the natural world. I believe that there are, but they are not readily obvious to those who cannot see. I have seen entities among the Nature Spirits who share their meals with others, not just their offspring. In a dog-eat-dog world, this seems so unusual for these behavioral machines. But it happens. If we only observe, miracles occur. Miracles occur all of the time, or so I believe, they just happen in the flow of things.

What of the true “spirits” in the Nature Spirits?

And what of the true “spirits” in the Nature Spirits? What do we make of them? The Spirits of Rivers and Mountains, and Valleys, and all. They are present, in their own way, and they exude a magical presence that is surprising as much as it is palpable. They may follow the course of the seasons, but at a different and perhaps more magical level. And what of other spirits?

When I go for my morning runs, at the very end, I thank all the trees that I find along the path. The last tree, on the left side, is a hawthorn tree, and I stop to thank it every day.

I wrap my arms around it and hold it close and speak to it. I feel my heartbeat synchronise with this arboreal wonder, and as I hold it, I look out to see what it sees, at my level. From there, I see the other spirits of nature, and a small part of the world from right at the level of the ground.

Watching and learning

What’s so special about the Nature Spirits? Everything. They teach, like with Nature, using few words, if any. They exist and they do what they do best, they are true to themselves, as they go about their day upon day upon days upon endless days.

For my own part, I will watch them. I will watch them move, like a leaf of the stream, silently, gracefully, effortlessly, as they drift past my consciousness into the river of the seasons and the river of time. Ultimately, they will flow past me as they continue their Way.

I will watch and listen intently, and I will know that I understand, when as I see those other entities look at me, perhaps in surprise, perhaps in understanding, as I float down that river of time.