Nature's Hymn The choir is singing; all the members are dressed in their tuxedos and most beautiful gowns. The music being created is so harmonious and soothing, almost like a lullaby. I drift into the deepest sleep and dream of paradise.
Have you ever been camping or "pretend" camping? What I mean by that, is camping out in the back of your yard pretending that creatures are lurking near and you must protect your fort. Or as I did, imagine that you were a princess and were captured. I recall one significant adventure when I slept under the stars with some friends and imagined that we were on a mission to save the princess, but there was one complication, I was the princess. Anyway, there was always the problem of not having enough of us to play. But that's beside the point. We always kicked things off by trying to "spook" each other with tales of ghouls and goblins. One such tale still haunts me to this very day. Although, I now know it was just the fabrication of a ten-year-old child with too much time on his hands, its' horror still stirs me at night. According to Abel, my neighbor, my house and his house were built on a cemetery. He told us that ghosts lived in his two-story, white brick house and that some of their souls were not at rest. The ghosts supposedly were very bitter and sought revenge upon all humans who dared mess with them. He said that we were all going to be punished because we built our houses over their graves. Allegedly, the ghosts would chant at night, "Get out of here, get out of here, get out of here!" each time their voices getting louder and louder. My brother and I never believed his dumb stories, until one night, while on one of our adventures we could hear the cries of the ghosts. All those times we laughed at his stories, we finally witnessed it for ourselves. It was true; there were ghosts. That night I couldn't sleep, those horrid words kept playing through my mind like a broken record player, "get out of here, get out of here, get out of here!" I still wonder if that night was real and if those ghosts really exist, or if Abel's brother was just playing an evil trick on us. What could it have been? I don't believe in ghosts but I swear that I heard it. Whatever it maybe, it scared the living day lights out of me and I've never been able to forget it.
Next, we were sent on our mission, which was to save the princess from the evil villain, typically the day's sitter. We climbed trees, hid under bushes, and guarded our fort (the tent). In the end it was always the same, we were exhausted and when we finally agreed to get some rest, we began to hear cries, creatures wanting to gobble us up. At that point I know that we all wanted to go back to the safety and comfort of our own beds. For some our bed was the equivalent of our parents bed. But being as stubborn as mules, and with the fear of being labeled a "chicken" for life, we all stuck it out. As the night wore on, the sounds began to grow louder and louder. Owls could be heard hooting for the whole world to hear, coyotes howl for their losses, crickets chirp like there is no tomorrow, frogs croak in almost anger, and finally a more familiar and comforting sound, the chirping of birds. The noise gets louder and fiercer. An attack seems inevitable, for those of us with creative minds and vast imaginations. By now I was so sure some shape or form was going to jump out of the darkness and eat me. I wanted nothing more than to be in the safety of my mothers arms. I waited for silence but instead the cries and howls got louder and louder. I squeezed my eyes in hopes that I would fall to sleep but instead I focused on the sounds more and more. They seemed to grow near and more clear. I felt as if they were right outside our tent breathing upon us. My body trembled and my teeth chattered with fear. The night dredged on with seconds feeling like hours. Was it ever going to end? I was so convinced I was not going to make it through the night. I began to cry, all I could think about was being home. I hid my face in shame, trying desperately for no one to see me. I guess I cried myself to sleep because the next thing I remember was my brother calling out, "come on Celeste lets go." Well, some how we all got through that night and I always swore to myself that I would never do that again, but of course I could not resist such adventures.
Now I'm eighteen years old, a freshmen in college and unfortunately I do not pretend I'm a princess anymore, I just dream that I am. Sometimes I wonder why I can't remain young and innocent like a child. That question was just recently answered through a nature adventure I experienced only about a month ago. I went camping out on a friend's ranch. I was not looking forward to sleeping underneath the stars, dreading that moment when those horrible sounds would return. For some odd reason I didn't desire to be home, but instead I began to pray for comfort and peace. I was silent and suddenly the noise turned into music. It was like a choir and all of God's creatures were members. Could God have answered my prayers so quickly? Was that sent for me? I began to imagine all of God's creatures dressed in their finest. The music was so perfect; it was like a choir of angelic voices, with God as their conductor. There were the sopranos along with the altos and the basses, a complete choir. The coyotes along with the owls sang the melody, while the frogs accompanied with the bass part. The crickets and birds sang the harmony adding to the delightful sound. They began softly then steadily grew louder as a crescendo. They sang fortissimo, with all they had. Then they returned to almost silence as in a decrescendo, singing piano. It was natures hymn. All the sounds were so intricately placed together to create such majestic music. It was like the lullabies my mother used to sing to me as child, but just a little more advanced. Ahhhh, I began to feel overcome with peace and the music began to grow fainter and fainter and soon I began to drift asleep. I dreamt of paradise that night.
It makes sense now, being a child is wonderful, but being mature is awesome! As a child everything is adventurous and exciting. It's not so bad being a child and just recently I wished that I was one again. After all the things I worried about, as a child, was nothing compared to now, but life has a way of working out. I didn't understand a lot as a child, but time and experience gave me the opportunity to understand God's words and his works. As someone wise once said, "Then you watch, now you see."
Now I see nature and all its mysteries as majestic and intriguing. I wanted nothing more than to see and experience the unknown. What does God have to tell me? I find that among the trees and the solitude God speaks and I finally have the chance to just be silent and listen. In everyday life we are too concerned with our own worries and forget that there is more to life than just school and work. Stop and smell the roses. Just listen, sometimes silence is louder than noise. You just might be able to hear "Nature's Hymn."