Contemplative Wandering
photograph by Sheinagh Saraswati Anderson
by Sheinagh Saraswati Anderson
After breakfast one fall morning, I set out for a long contemplative wander through my neighbourhood seeking the last of the summer blooms. People in this neighbourhood love their gardens and tend them through the changing seasons. People like me are grateful for the gardeners and the abundance of each garden’s splendour. On this particular morning, clouds rained lightly upon the tired garden plants, causing their droopy stems to once more raise upwards in welcome. I found a raindrop sprinkled flower in full colour reaching outwards for the sun and moved in close with my camera. This bloom was beautiful to behold with my eyes alone, but through the camera lens I could see far beyond its surface to the deep and exquisite perfection of creation itself.
In a teaching on interbeing, Buddhist spiritual teacher Thich Nhat Hanh invites us to see the cloud floating in a sheet of paper. The cloud is not seen by our ordinary eyes; rather we are asked to look beyond the surface of the paper to acknowledge all the elements necessary for its creation, including the rain cloud, the sunshine, the soil, and the tree. This contemplative practice is like saying Grace before a meal, remembering and blessing all the elements and beings, lives, thoughts, and prayers that went into its preparation.
As I contemplated 'interbeing,' I gazed at the flower and envisioned the constellation of its making—the sky, rain, sun, soil, bees, and winds; the many generations of parent flowers who gave their seeds; and the generations of Earth gardeners who collaborated in bringing forth beauty into the world. The thought of Beauty and its continuance opened my heart in gratitude to the flower and the gardener, and to creation itself. I pondered the teachings of the flower, the qualities of noble goodness, selflessness and generosity. For even in its final blooming, it uplifts all who draw near – a beautiful expression of life for as long as life lasts.
In the practice of contemplative wandering, I notice when my attention rests on an object, image or movement. For example, swaying branches and falling leaves, clouds moving across the sky, or a bedraggled crow hopping along the path in front of me. I pause and consider closely what possible message or wisdom teaching is being offered.
On this particular day, a huge naked chestnut caught my eye. I picked up its shiny brown form and nestled it in my palm. Suddenly I was no longer in Vancouver exploring my neighbourhood’s trees and gardens. I was transported back in time to my childhood in Scotland where I could see my elder brother as an excitable young boy delighting in a game of conkers. I watched him search and find the largest and hardest of the conkers, (the chestnut shed of its spikey casing), then thread it with wool to make a conker dangler ready for the game of conker-cracking. What fun. What rapturous glee. I heard his laughter and felt his wild energy, his unbridled joy for life.
Thich Nhat Hanh suggests contemplative walking, wandering and wondering in nature whenever we are grieving a loss of a beloved and miss their presence. As we walk and look deeply into the natural world, there we will see our beloveds smiling back at us from the many forms that nature takes – lovingly healing heart, mind and soul. From now on, whenever I see the conkers falling off trees and crashing on the pavement below, I will hear my beloved brother's laughter.
In the marvellous practice of contemplative wandering and wondering, the extraordinary can be found hidden within the ordinary world. Every image and object hold a secret tale of remembrance, an opportunity for a visit and retelling. Wisdom is offered to the wandering wonderer.
Sheinagh Saraswati Anderson
is a contemplative in the world, a spiritual director and teacher of spiritual life-skills and transformative contemplative practice. She delights in sharing the spiritual treasures found in many of the world's wisdom traditions, and encourages direct experience found within their practice. Additionally, Sheinagh offers a space of deep listening and accompaniment, Buddhist grief counsel, and compassionate spiritual care in bereavement.
Sheinagh completed SoulGuiding in 2022. Read about her spiritual direction practice here.
