Farewell
By John Palka — Posted November 17, 2024
This past Friday was the ninth anniversary of the establishment of Nature’s Depths—on November 15, 2015, a pair of posts constituted its public birth. It has been quite a journey for me!
The opening post was entitled “To See the World in a Grain of Sand.” Here are its first paragraphs.
Two centuries ago, the poet William Blake wrote four of the most often quoted lines in English literature. The opening of his Auguries of Innocence is a passage that echoes my own experience.
To see a World in a Grain of Sand,
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an Hour…
To see a world in a grain of sand—to peer so deeply into the nature of any one thing that the riches of the Universe begin to be revealed—that to me is the essence of science as a quest. Not as a profession or a career, not as a niche in complex modern society, but as a quest for understanding one’s deepest nature.
A quest is something deeply personal. You never know where it will lead, or whether that will be a reassuring or a threatening place. No matter, however. After all, you undertake a quest because the rewards of the process itself are so great. Speaking for myself, I have found that the more I have focused on the questing nature of my scientific work, the greater has been the joy, and indeed exhilaration, I have derived from it. I hope that the words and pictures that you will find on these posts will convey some of that joy and exhilaration.
The natural world is all around us, and we are an integral part of it. Just like all other animals, we human beings are nourished by the organisms we eat, and our lives depend on the oxygen of the atmosphere provided by the Earth’s plants and on the warmth provided by the Sun. As far as we know from a scientific point of view, even our conscious experience is dependent on the workings of natural systems—our brains—although we lack any real understanding of how physiology and experience are related.
A total of sixty-five posts have appeared over the nine years since this opening. The topics have ranged from how water rises in a tree from the roots up to leaves or needles that can be hundreds of feet up in the air, to valuing nature, to the role that molecules play in life, to the inner lives of animals, to the impact of remembering that our sun is a star. The most recent posting was entitled “The Wondrous World of Dragons and Damsels” and was all about the complex and amazing lives of dragonflies and damselflies. I have learned a huge amount while exploring such a range of topics!
This exploration is continuing for me with greater intensity than ever, but it is taking an evolving form. One aspect is that I have found myself spending more and more time in nature and in photographing it, especially in ways that try to draw out its beauty and the way it affects us internally. I used to walk for an hour or so several times a week. Now, without even thinking about it, I find myself outside every day, twice and sometimes even three times. The time I spend during these sojourns in nature passes without my awareness, often two hours or even more. The results of my photography feel like gifts. I have no control over what views I will encounter, or over the light that is so central to photography, or over what movements living creatures will perform or the wind will induce. I am simply grateful for what appears in my camera.
This large and profound aspect of my life has led me to start putting together a book in which I try to portray my experiences in nature a way that will be meaningful to the readers. The book’s provisional title is Nature, Beauty, and Spirit. The concept is still evolving, but the titles of the existing chapters indicate the direction:
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- Nature, Beauty, and Spirit
- Nature Outside Speaks Within
- We Are All One
- Earth, Our Home
- Flowers and Their Companions
Each chapter carries with it an array of photographs that resonate with the contents. Sometimes they illustrate a specific point, but more often they are simply in the domain of the chapter’s topic. Images of nature have their own language—they speak in a different way than words do—and I want to make sure that I do not get in the way of readers responding to that unspoken language.
Many of the actual topics that I am incorporating in this new undertaking I have already explored in Nature’s Depths. I would not be able to write Nature, Beauty, and Spirit had I not deepened my understanding of both nature and spirit over the nine years of offering observations and thoughts to all of you. Thank you for that opportunity!
There is another parallel effort. During the past year and more, I have been invited a number of times to present a so-called Discourse at the nearby Hindu temple. The Discourse series takes place on Sunday mornings and provides a time for participants to engage with presenters on a wide range of topics in the world of spirit. The presenters most often base their thoughts and teachings on Hindu scripture. I have never felt qualified to do that. I do have a long engagement with Hinduism, starting in the year 1960-61 which Yvonne and I spent in India. Our experience there had a profound and lasting impact on both of us. However, my experience is nothing like growing up within Hinduism and studying its teachings in an ongoing way, as have most of the other Discourse presenters. For this reason, I generally bring in concepts from other sources, most often science and/or Christianity, and explore how they intertwine with the depths of Hinduism.
Preparing Discourses is an intense process! I have found, however, that the Discourses are also forming the heart of chapters. Sometimes even the titles are the same, like the most recent “We Are All One” and “Earth, Our Home.” These two different modes of presenting key ideas—in a lecture and in a book—are mutually enriching.
So, dear readers of Nature’s Depths, I hope all this will explain to you why I have made the difficult decision to bring Nature’s Depths to a close. Nine years and sixty-five posts have made for a wonderful and deepening journey. Now, however, I find that Nature, Beauty, and Spirit is drawing my full attention. The fact that I recently passed my eighty-fifth birthday also encourages me to concentrate my efforts. The preparation of each Discourse is fully supportive of the process of framing the book’s deepest topics, but working on three major projects at the same time would be quite a challenge!
It is my intention to maintain Nature’s Depths as an active site at least until Nature, Beauty and Spirit is published and probably thereafter as well. I see it as a way of communicating with you from time to time. In addition, I receive comments and sometimes personal queries on pieces that were published in the past, as they are discovered by new readers. I want to continue to welcome such approaches and respond to them.
Finally, thinking that some of you might be interested in knowing what my Discourses are like, I am taking the liberty of including links to the recordings of all that I have delivered thus far.
When Nature Opens Both the Mind and the Heart
The Role of the Brain in the Search for Truth
The link for “Earth, Our Home” is not yet available. When I receive it, I will update this post.
Dear readers, thank you all for your interest and patience, especially over the years since Yvonne’s passing, and for reading this farewell message. I hope that my efforts have been of value to you and that you will continue to explore the depths of nature as you spend time in her presence.
All the very best from a grateful Johnny
I will love to see the book. Looking forward to it! I think of you often. And I totally understand the healing power of being in the natural world. Especially in the smallest of scales.
Thank you so much, Carol. Your words bring back many warm memories from oh so many decades ago!
Dear Johnny, I have enjoyed your writings a great deal over the years and also the times we met up on the island. I understand the need to re-parcel our remaining time, as I will be 83 in a few months and living in Moses Lake WA where my sister and her large extended family have lived for many years. It is a farming community and I am enjoying a different pace of life, for however long it continues.
Thanks for your ongoing service to our lives in this world.
Many thanks, again.
Kit Ketcham
Thank you, Kit. Your words in response to almost every posting on Nature’s Depths have been a constant encouragement to me.
Lovely to know how your attentions are shifting and we look forward to your book!
Many thanks, Tom. I will definitely let everyone know when the book comes out. I am having a conversation with the publisher tomorrow!
Thank you for you all your time and efforts. You will be missed but not forgotten. May the sun always shine on your face and the wind be at your back.
I will remember those wonderful words, Jeff!
Can’t wait to read it! We octogenarians must prioritize. Happily, Nature’s Depths will still be accessible as well as kneaded into your book.
We have traveled rather parallel paths, haven’t we, Ursula. I have really valued our ongoing connection, both meaningful and supportive. Thank you!
Johnny, your posts have become my regular go-to. I will miss them. But thank you so much. Rex Hunt. Australia
Thank you for your warm-hearted words, Rex. It is also wonderful to be reminded that ocean waters are no barrier to communication in the modern world!
I will miss Nature’s Depths, John, and communing with you in these articles. You have brought much appreciation to my thoughts about nature and writing. Please make sure we know how to order a copy of your book.
Warmest regards,
Lynn Geri
Dear Lynn, the book will be available both through the publisher, Kirk House Publishers here in Minnesota, and through Amazon. I will definitely put up an announcement on Nature’s Depths when it comes out. It is great but also more than a bit surprising to be thinking about the appearance of a book whose exact nature is still evolving from day to day!
Thank you for your creativity and insights over the years.
We have both grown over the years, haven’t we, Teresita!
Thank you, Johnny, for these posts. I have religiously (faithfully?) followed them, drawn from them, delighted in them, and not infrequently, passed them on to friends that I suspect will grow from them as well.
I totally understand the end of things, especially at our ages, and the need to focus on fewer activities at any one time.
With love, Ahaspati
Thank you, Ahaspati. It is wonderful to know that my efforts have found such resonance. Perhaps a time will come when you and I will meet again in person. With very fond memories, Johnny
Thank you for your work!
Thank you for your exquisite photos.
Thank you for your dedication to nature and science.
Thank you for your curiosity!!!!
And thank you, Grace. You and your family have become anchor points in my life!
I have always found your expositions to be enlightening and leading me to so many questions about my embodiment, how this psyche experiences the world and how that reflects who I am. Thank you for posting the links to your talks, it will make it much easier to go back and listen again! I look forward to your book, I am excited to see and read what I am sure will be inspiring for me! With Love, Marc/Jitendra
Dear Marc, Thank you for all this! It’s all a part of the journey we have shared in multiple ways, isn’t it. Love, Johnny
Thank you, Johnny, for all the informative and stimulating pieces over the years. I will look forward to the book.
Many thanks, Steve. I’m looking forward to the book as well. Drafts of the opening chapters are written. Tomorrow I will have a Zoom conference with my publisher, primarily about book design. It’s becoming real!
If you ever want comment on drafts, please let me know. I’ve done heaps of editing.
Thank you muchly, Steve. I may well take you up on that offer!
Thank you! You’ve made my life and relationship to nature so much richer and you will continue to do so in a new form. I love the way your life path continues to evolve – the seeker and the finder. Sending you lots of love and gratitude for being the wonderful you that you are sharing with us all your journey with all its beautiful discoveries! Love Katherine
Dear Katherine, Your words are not only wonderfully supportive, they are uplifting and inspiring. Thank you so, so much! Love, Johnny
Johnny, I am so very happy to hear you’re working on your book. I know it’ll be such an important contribution to our intimate spirituality with nature. Of course I’ll miss Nature’s Depth – but I can’t wait to order and read Nature, Beauty, and Spirit: so key to my own journey, as you know.
With much warmth,
Trileigh
Dear Trileigh, I have recently thought quite a few times about you and the discussion group you put together oh so many years ago. The wonderful conversations we had about the intertwining of science and spirit were my first experience of sharing in this domain. Please accept my long-belated thanks for the gift you gave to all of us! Here’s a big supply of warmth back to you, Johnny
Dear Johnny,
In this season of Thanksgiving I am thankful for the writing and thoughts and images you have shared with us. I feel happy thinking of you working now in the form of your book, Nature, Beauty and Spirit. The format of the book has shown that through books, people can speak to each other across long expanses of time. I also feel happy thinking of your walks in nature. Thank you, too, for the links to your Discourses. I have begun watching with The Power of Music. I’m enjoying playing in our local symphony and in a string quartet.
All the best to you,
Karen
Thank you for your wonderfully supportive words, Karen. I have such fond memories of you and Steve!!
Thank you, Johnny, for so much inspiration over the years. I’m sure the new format will prove equally enlightening!
Thank you, Dave. It has been quite a journey for me. I am very grateful for it, and for the new form which it is now taking.