Rightly understood, the mystic is not a special kind of human being; rather, every human being is a special kind of mystic.
David Steindl-Rast
A blue sky and sunshine the day after a snowfall will make me smile as a photographer. I can be confident that images will be available if I will bear the cold. This was one of those days! The quote above makes me wonder what our world would look like if we all believed we were a special kind of mystic. Mirabai Starr states a mystic is a person who has a direct experience of the sacred, unmediated by conventional religious rituals or intermediaries. I’ve also seen it defined as someone who has a direct experience of the Divine. Mary Oliver also believed that anyone who knows how to pay attention, can be considered a mystic. And, there are many more we could list. But with those definitions, then if we have stood in awe and wonder at a sunrise, snow covered mountains, a butterfly flitting from branch to branch or mesmerized before a place of refuge, then I would suggest we are a mystic.
2 Comments
Earl
What a beautiful postcard winter scene. Thank you, Monte, for bearing the cold and sharing this with us. Perhaps the quote is accurate, but you’d need to dig mighty deep to find a mystic in some people. However, “special kind” leaves room for interpretation. 😉
Monte Stevens
Thank you, Earl! I agree that we need to dig mighty deep with some people. I like to believe we are all made from the same stardust. If more of us believed that then there would be less emphasis that some of us are special and some are not, and therefore all a mystic.