Not a Scenic Backdrop (Mary DeJong)

"Creation is not a scenic backdrop designed only so humans can take the stage. Creation is in fact a full participant in human transformation, as the outer world is absolutely needed to mirror the true inner world; the world itself is a sacrament. Thomas Berry believes that “our most urgent need at the present time is for a reorientation of the human venture toward an intimate experience of the world around us.” Berry and Hildegard (of Bingen) were prophetic healers, voices calling us to our collective, numinous relationship with nature. The land models mutuality and sustainability, but to come to know these values, one must be in renewed communication with other species—an occurrence inherent to inter-being in the natural world." -- Mary DeJong

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Mary De Jong is a member of the AllCreation team. This paragraph is excerpted from her breakthrough 2017 paper on Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), A Holy High: How Hildegard Found Her Inspiration Grounded in the Garden. Learn more about Mary's transformative religion/ecology work at Waymarkers.net. Check out 33 acre, community-owned and restored, Cheasty Greenspace, which she manages in Seattle. Visit waymarkers.net/rewildingretreats to learn about Mary's rewilding opportunities.