supernatural

the maori believe that aoraki (mount cook) is a sacred symbol of their spiritual ancestors – a link between the supernatural and natural worlds. that the ice and mist and peaks and valleys all combine to tell a story of the land’s and people’s beginnings – a story of father and mother and son, of love and parting and tears and loss and eternal love.

as we’ve passed through sprawls of dizzying mountains, endless rolling pasture, thick rainforest, and crashing coasts… it becomes clear that it’s impossible not to worship at these altars, impossible not to find yourself silently and instinctively offering thanks to whatever forces brought them into being. impossible not to be moved, stirred deeply and inexplicably in some very primal way to exaltation. it’s more than awe and wonderment. it’s an inspiration to glorify, to pray to some benificent being, to pay homage to something omnipotent and almighty – an undeniable and urgent need to praise something or someone for the magnificence that is this extraordinary planet. it’s the spark of all belief and theism and religion and myth.

when you find yourself at the foot of a mountain, lost in an unconscious and unspoken meditation on the meaning of life and the birth of the universe – suddenly you understand the endurance of something as enigmatic as faith in this crazy world.

it’s impossible not to.

This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 August, 2006 at 12:48 am and is filed under new zealand. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.