Newlands Valley, Lake District, United Kingdom  September,  2017

 The English Lake District was my first home. It was also the home of the Lake Poets. I lived about 100 metres from the birthplace of William Wordsworth. The Lake Poets took nature as inspiration and expressed their closeness to the transcendent in verse. Revisiting my homeland after years of teaching about our faith gave me a new lens in which to see the landscape. But it was a binary vision: The childhood awe and wonder at the magnificence of the placed combined with an adult language. Deep wonder of my childhood met the spiritual wisdom of the masters of our faith. “The child is the father of man”. (Wordsworth, The Rainbow)

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long. 

The Lord is My Shepherd 8 x 10