Mondays with Muir

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.” John Muir

There is a statement I heard a while ago, but I cannot find the exact quote. It went something like this: It takes one generation to save a treasure, and every following generation to keep it saved. During the 19th century, America began setting aside land to preserve its unique, glorious wilderness that no longer existed in the rest of the developed world. So began our National Park System! We now, as a nation, recognize over 400 designated areas that are part of the National Park System. These areas include forests, lakeshores, memorials and monuments. Unfortunately, there is always pressure from multiple fronts to chip away at the protection they have been granted. Most cherished of all are the treasures not made by man, but by the hand of our mighty Creator. The Grand Canyon, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, Yosemite Valley, the Tetons, and Niagara Falls are only a few of the places that offer an uspoiled glimpse of the beauty of God’s handiwork. We must pass on to future generations, and to our own, that “mountains” are for more than timber and “rivers” for more than irrigation. They are fountains; fountains that remind us of the giver of life; fountains that replenish our souls by filling our hearts with awe and wonder like no manmade feature can provoke; fountains that humble, reminding us that life isn’t all about our problems, hopes, failures, or accomplishments, but that we are a part of something much bigger than we ever imagined.

I find it amusing that over 100 years ago Muir recognized people as “over-civilized” and “nerve-shaken”. If only he could see us now. How truly we do need wildness. We are in desperate need of something to balance our false sense of control and authority in life. Nothing is better at that than His creation.