The Arboretum

(I wrote this on Saturday. Finally I am getting around to posting it)



Man was not born for himself alone. -Plato
A gift from a citizen of the 20th century
for the citizens of the future.

I sat on this bench to write this.



Lately I've been in a rut. When I leave my house, I'm probably heading to either church or work. Don't get me wrong: those are wonderful things. I'm very happy to have both as a part of my life. But I need to get out. On an episode of the Johnny Cash Show, which aired from 1968-1970*, Mr. Cash discusses the human need to get out and experience the beauty of creation as a part of experiencing Jesus. Such is the ache I've been having.



Unbeknownst to me, there is a woodland oasis near Madison Park - the Washington Park Arboretum. I'd never been to the Arboretum, despite many recommendations. I had several assumptions about the Arboretum**. Fortunately, all of my assumptions were wrong, as it is far more wonderful than I ever could have expected.

Today is a perfect day to take it in: sunny and warm, but not hot. There are quite a few other people here (mostly couples, families, and runners), though it is by no means crowded. And the mosquitoes...ok, so it's as close to perfect as we can get this side of Heaven.



These are red berries. Obviously,
these are not the ones I tried to eat.



I found one bush full of blue berries. They were clearly not blueberries, but I did not know what they were. Fortunately, I've read enough survival guides to know how to find out whether or not they're safe to eat. First, pick a berry. Simple enough. Crush it between your thumb and index finger. If the juice burns your finger, don't eat it. If you get any kind of a reaction, don't eat it***. Should either of these occur, you want to wipe your hand in the dirt, then rinse your hand. Otherwise, put a bit of the juice on another finger and touch it to your tongue. If this doesn't burn or make you feel sick, you can eat half a berry, then the other half 20 minutes later.

This process is designed for survival situations. In survival conditions where you would need these berries for nourishment, you would want this to take about a day. It is not foolproof. I felt a burning sensation when I touched it to my tongue, so I stopped. I washed my mouth out using my water bottle, then drank some water to dilute anything that may have made it to my stomach. As the old adage goes, "There are brave mushroom hunters, and there are old mushroom hunters. There are no brave, old mushroom hunters.

We view nature as an escape from real life, a path to get away from what's important, but it can be a reminder too that so much of what we value is entirely temporal and ultimately unimportant. God put us on this Earth not to go to work and pay our bills, but to serve him.



*If you are a fan of Walk the Line, I encourage you to look into the scene with Hank Williams and the Johnny Cash Show. You will notice that Hank had long been dead when this scene is supposed to have taken place.

**I thought the Arboretum was little more than a giant greenhouse, such as the National Botanical Garden. Total number of dates I've had at said botanical garden: 2. Total number of girls those dates were with: 1. 
***Had I exercised patience (which is really essential for this), I would have eventually noticed the mild rash on my fingers and not tasted it.

(I wrote this on Saturday. Finally I am getting around to posting it)



Man was not born for himself alone. -Plato
A gift from a citizen of the 20th century
for the citizens of the future.

I sat on this bench to write this.



Lately I've been in a rut. When I leave my house, I'm probably heading to either church or work. Don't get me wrong: those are wonderful things. I'm very happy to have both as a part of my life. But I need to get out. On an episode of the Johnny Cash Show, which aired from 1968-1970*, Mr. Cash discusses the human need to get out and experience the beauty of creation as a part of experiencing Jesus. Such is the ache I've been having.



Unbeknownst to me, there is a woodland oasis near Madison Park - the Washington Park Arboretum. I'd never been to the Arboretum, despite many recommendations. I had several assumptions about the Arboretum**. Fortunately, all of my assumptions were wrong, as it is far more wonderful than I ever could have expected.

Today is a perfect day to take it in: sunny and warm, but not hot. There are quite a few other people here (mostly couples, families, and runners), though it is by no means crowded. And the mosquitoes...ok, so it's as close to perfect as we can get this side of Heaven.



These are red berries. Obviously,
these are not the ones I tried to eat.



I found one bush full of blue berries. They were clearly not blueberries, but I did not know what they were. Fortunately, I've read enough survival guides to know how to find out whether or not they're safe to eat. First, pick a berry. Simple enough. Crush it between your thumb and index finger. If the juice burns your finger, don't eat it. If you get any kind of a reaction, don't eat it***. Should either of these occur, you want to wipe your hand in the dirt, then rinse your hand. Otherwise, put a bit of the juice on another finger and touch it to your tongue. If this doesn't burn or make you feel sick, you can eat half a berry, then the other half 20 minutes later.

This process is designed for survival situations. In survival conditions where you would need these berries for nourishment, you would want this to take about a day. It is not foolproof. I felt a burning sensation when I touched it to my tongue, so I stopped. I washed my mouth out using my water bottle, then drank some water to dilute anything that may have made it to my stomach. As the old adage goes, "There are brave mushroom hunters, and there are old mushroom hunters. There are no brave, old mushroom hunters.

We view nature as an escape from real life, a path to get away from what's important, but it can be a reminder too that so much of what we value is entirely temporal and ultimately unimportant. God put us on this Earth not to go to work and pay our bills, but to serve him.



*If you are a fan of Walk the Line, I encourage you to look into the scene with Hank Williams and the Johnny Cash Show. You will notice that Hank had long been dead when this scene is supposed to have taken place.

**I thought the Arboretum was little more than a giant greenhouse, such as the National Botanical Garden. Total number of dates I've had at said botanical garden: 2. Total number of girls those dates were with: 1. 
***Had I exercised patience (which is really essential for this), I would have eventually noticed the mild rash on my fingers and not tasted it.

The Arboretum