not alone

I was at the major seminary at Punggol for a short retreat two weeks ago and had another 'revelation' in my relationship with creation. Major seminary at Punggol has beautiful natural surroundings, lots of trees, birds, beautiful sky and lots of space to roam around and be reflective.

During one of the evenings, I was sitting at the basketball court, doing my quiet time. After my reflection, I thought about doing what St. Francis did, speak to the birds and trees, and sky and sun, and addressing them as my brothers and sisters in Christ. It seemed pretty wacky at that time, but gradually I learned to appreciate each creature for what it is.. thanking the birds for their beautiful sounds, thanking the trees for providing cool shade, thanking the sun for his warmth, the wind for his comforting touch..

And it just occurred to me that I am not alone wherever I go. Even if I'm standing on the hills of England or trekking through the forests in Malaysia, I can always feel a sense of solidarity and shared kinship with creation all around. I guess that's God's way of telling me that I am not alone on this earth. He walks with me, and creation is His way of showing His presence. I am never alone.

Have you spoken to brother sun or sister moon today? :)

Jean-Michel Cousteau Ocean adventures

I had the opportunity to watch this documentary on National Geographic channel today. If you missed it, don't worry! Catch part 2 next Wed!

The focus was on the marine nature parks off the coasts of America. As I was watching the documentary and beautiful footage of coral reefs, fishes, dolphins, whales... I could not help but feel absolutely in awe of nature. There was this particular scene where they filmed a leatherback turtle (one of the largest and most endangered in the world) laying her eggs on the beach and returning to the sea at day break. The sight of the largest living sea turtle being reclaimed by the ocean at dawn was simply breathtaking and if it was so beautiful a moment for me in my living room, I can't imagine what the videographer must have felt watching this scene before his or her eyes.

Just watching scene after scene of magical moments on TV, dolphins jumping in front of the ship, humpback whales flipping out of the water, thousands of eggs and sperms spawned from coral reefs... all these instilled within me a great awe and wonder for God's creation. Perhaps this sense of awe and wonder is but a small fraction of what we will experience when we see God face-to-face. It is an opportunity, to recoginse Him and appreciate Him for His creation, and an opportunity for us to be reminded of our responsibilities as stewards of this earth, to protect this beauty in nature for future generations to love and respect.

When was the last time you were in awe of God's creation?



Humback whale