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While walking one morning, I had a magical experience.

As I turned the corner onto the next street, the world went silent. Not nature—the world. I made no sound. My feet were silent. My breath was silent. It was as if the person I call me wasn’t there. I had become a camera moving through the green trees, recording birdsong, feeling the blue of the sky as if it reached all the way down to the road.

I was gliding through a piece of the universe, and yet the whole expanse of it was around me and within me at once.

It lasted only a few minutes. Then it was just me again, walking down the road. I couldn’t recreate the experience if I tried, because these things arrive only when we least expect them.

But the pale memory of it is something I can return to whenever I forget that the world is far more than I can see—and that each of us contains the infinite diversity of the universe.

If we pay attention, nature won’t let us forget this. It reminds us again and again that we are all part of the fabric of the Divine’s immense, unquenchable, beautiful diversity.

Letting the Land Return to Itself

Some people don’t like that.

When we first moved into our home, we decided not to mow the back half-acre of our property. The previous owner had mowed it, even though it was quite a feat to reach.

We chose instead to leave it alone—to let it become what it had been before someone decided a green lawn was better than a forest meadow.

Now, years later, that land is returning to itself. Evergreens are rising everywhere. Grasses, bushes, and wildflowers are blooming. Deer and other animals love it.

One neighbor hates it. She wants it flat and green again. Diversity unsettles her. It’s not something she can control.

Once, when she stopped by to complain about it once more, she noticed the tiny meadow we’ve encouraged within our lawn, and she grew even more confused. Why would we let that mess into our yard on purpose?

But the birds, bees, butterflies, and squirrels aren’t confused at all. They love this little meadow. And as much as I love my more ordered garden, this wild patch makes me even happier.

At first it was a bit of a mess, still working out its balance. But every year I watched it become more of what it’s meant to be. We helped it along—not by managing it, but by giving it what it needs to thrive. And most of the time, that means staying out of its way.

The Effort of Control

Infinite, expansive diversity is what constitutes the universe.

We, humans, impose sameness because we’re afraid of not being in control—even though controlling things takes enormous effort. And in the end, it’s wasted effort, because it can’t actually be done. We’re only fooling ourselves if we think we’re accomplishing anything other than tiring ourselves out, and often hurting ourselves and others along the way.

When we set down our human beliefs and habits, nature takes over. Or, more accurately, the Divine’s infinite expression of Itself begins to shine through nature's symbols.

The morning I glided through the universe, for one brief moment, the harmony of diversity made complete sense.

The Same World, Experienced Differently

The universe I experience is different from the one you experience. It’s the same universe—only met differently, depending on our beliefs, our habits, and our willingness to let go.

My neighbor experiences the world as something she must control. I want to experience it for what it is, letting go of the expectations that get in the way.

As the world uncovers the hidden wrongs within it and brings them into the light to be healed, we can remember that light dissolves darkness. Diversity is not something we impose. It’s something we get out of the way of—something we support, and allow to happen.

And as we listen, we’ll each come to know the right action to take.

Start With the Mirror

The first step is accepting that the beauty of diversity begins with us. Each of us is a unique expression of the Divine. We can let that diversity flourish within us and express it in a way that is entirely our own.

So step in front of the mirror and see the beauty of the universe expressed through you.

No more mowing yourself down.

Because becoming yourself was never about adding anything.

It’s a beautiful, expansive, unique, infinitely diverse unfolding.

Magnify good...

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