REFLECTIONS FROM THE REARVIEW
  • Home
  • Hello and Welcome
  • Blog
  • Worth Repeating
  • My Book
  • FAQ

Badlands

1/21/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Well, they don’t call them the Goodlands for a reason. They creep people out. Set against an everyday landscape, they just look strange and unnatural. Don’t go into the Badlands at night. You will see things you never before imagined. Desert and wild places are like that. Their mention most often occurs in archetypal quests, the dangerous journey where the hero ventures out to a strange land to retrieve treasure of the gods that has long been forgotten. Now that might make you want to spend some time in the wilderness. 

We don’t have to go far to find badlands. We have them in Canada, notably in southern Alberta in Drumheller and Devil’s Coulee. The Indians used to call such lonely spots, the place of the Dead. Once upon a time, the entire prairies used to be vast sea plain complete with all that encompasses. There are forgotten worlds we can only imagine, and the fossil record brings life to the kind of monsters that we generally only hear about in myths and legends. 

Seeing the fifty foot long skeleton of Bruce the Mosasoar in Morden, Manitoba makes Leviathan and Behemoth from the book of Job seem not so vague. Leviathan - the fearsome sea monster whose scales would repel arrows and spears, who belched forth fire from his mouth and smoke from his nostrils. How could such things even be? They seem to have been, in the badlands. 
Picture
A daytime trip to the badlands can turn up some unusual treasures that require careful eyes to spot out. Most common are ancient deer incisors which look pretty much like all the other small bits of stone strewn about until you examine them up close. There are also comical finds, like fossilized dinosaur poop, which you recognize, because it looks like well, poop.
One of my most unusual excursions was to the badlands at night with my brother. It’s not the time people usually visit. You turn off your headlights to drive in under night skies. There are otherworldly aspect to this, things you don’t see in daylight. Our visit was by a full moon which can be surprisingly bright. In a landscape so barren, the animals hidden during the daylight, come out to forage. They wander around finding any scrub of plant life they can munch on. They don’t much care about human beings. And so it is that you find yourself surrounded by the strange and quiet forms of antelope and deer, huffing and snorting as they bump up against you, grazing all around as if nothing is unusual. Standing by a silent antelope under a black sky is mysterious, and unsettling. 
Picture
I cannot forget the vividness of my own experience when I got lost in the Judean desert above the Dead Sea plain for three days. It is the same area where Jesus disappeared for forty days, fasting and praying before he started his ministry. It is where he was tempted by the Devil, and it is also the location of the Valley of the Shadow of Death, brought to life in the twenty-third Psalm. During my own foray into the wilderness, the most odd aspect was the many life forms that appear. It is unusual to be in the company of such things. It means that the animals have no context by which to fear humans. You are wandering around a desert plain that looks like the moon, all alone, and montain goats are walking up to you staring, wondering what kind of animal you might be. It is a scene you are unlikely to forget any time soon. 
Picture
Perhaps that is why vision quests are attached with the idea of sending a young man out to such lonely places, in search of himself. He sees things he cannot to see in the day-to-day. These kind of vision quests are accompanied by fasting so as to add acuity to the senses. The participant abjures food and drink until he achieves his goal. If he succeeds he will have an other-worldly kind of vision and return to the community with some humility and the status of a man who no longer imagines he knows everything. 

What does the wilderness signify in archetypal terms? It’s a place of revitalization that seeks to re-establish communion with God, a relationship we sense has been lost. It seems to be universal, that mankind goes to the wild places in order to find God. Wild places remove the everyday, and give other things a chance to be. Ancient societies have called such spots “Thin Places” because the veil separating man and things eternal is temporarily drawn back. Thin places are places of revelation.

It makes me think about the fasting portion of the equation. Fasting is prescribed in the Bible as a common accompaniment for prayer. It is a spiritual discipline rarely adhered to in modern times. There are many instances of fasting in the Bible, voluntary lack followed up by some kind of spiritual sustenance. When Jesus fasted and prayed In the Bible, he was sustained by angels with food of another sort. “My bread and meat is to do the will of Him who sent me,” he said. 

A trip to the wilderness can be enlightening. It might be accompanied by fasting, as a means of seeing things differently. We might also fast, so as to dine with the almighty. It’s eating between meals, you might say. “Can God set a table in the wilderness?” the wandering Israelites asked rheutorically. ​​It’s what can happen in the wild and lonely places if you are very lucky. Unexpected sustenance from above. 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    UNCOMMON
    ​THOUGHTS

    ...about common things. 
    ​

    Categories

    All
    Accidental Story
    Activist
    A Display Of His Splendour
    Adjusting The Recipe
    Ad Man
    A Flannery O'Connor Moment
    After The Tiger
    A High Christology
    A Little Bit Redneck
    All About Widgets
    Allah Wallahi
    All I Got
    Al Low Vs The Man
    All Roads
    All Saints
    Almost
    A Long List Of Thank Yous
    Amazing Grace
    A Month Of Sundays
    And A Little Child Shall Lead Them
    And Make It Beautiful
    An Offer You Can’t Refuse
    An Officer And A Gentleman
    Antique
    A Pile Of Wood And A Plan
    Are We There Yet?
    Artifact
    As Simple As Sunshine
    A Tale Of Two Crosses
    At Hand
    Attending To Beauty
    At War
    Baby Boom
    Bad-Ass Outlaw
    Bad Faith
    Badlands
    Bad Math
    Baked Boiled Or Fried?
    Balcony Lady
    Barcode
    Beautiful By Design
    Beauty For Ashes
    Beauty On Purpose
    Being Different
    Being Human
    Belial
    Beneficence
    Best For Last
    Better Mousetrap
    Betty Toop
    Beware Of God
    Beware Of Men Who Cry
    Big Buts Of The Bible
    Bit Part
    Blessed Are The Pew Warmers
    Bound For Beauty
    Brazier
    British Invasion
    Bronte Oak
    Bucket List
    But If Not
    But Is It Sandable
    But Is It True?
    Buyer Beware
    Call To Prayer
    Camp Of The Unknown God
    Cant
    Carlton The Delivery Man
    Car Wash
    Chaos
    Cherry Picking
    Cherry Top
    Civil Disobedience
    Class Monitors And Safety Patrols
    Click Bait
    Clothing Optional
    Cloud Of Witnesses
    Colour Blind
    Coming To My Senses
    Contra Mundum
    Couldn't Not
    Counting The Cost
    Covid Cut
    Crazy
    Creed
    Crooked Made Straight
    Crucified Man
    Curated
    Curse Of Adam
    Damascus Road
    Dangerous
    Dangerous Chemicals Of My Youth
    Data Overload
    Day Of The Dead
    Deliver Us From Evil
    Deposit Of Faith
    Dieu Et Mon Droit
    Different Drum
    Distressed
    Dog House
    Doing Church
    Doing The Lord's Work
    Doing The Math
    Do It Yourself
    Dominion
    Dominus Vobiscum
    Do-Over
    Do Something!
    Dreaming And Doing
    Edifice
    Egging Armour Hill
    English Leather
    Ensign
    Even As I Am Known
    Even Me
    Even Stranger Things
    Exiles
    Experience Wanted
    Faithful Servant
    Fallow Season
    Family Bible
    Family Business
    Feeling It
    Fellowship Of The Brush
    Field Of Faith
    First World Chair
    Fit As You Go
    Five Minutes
    Fixing The Machine
    Flawed People
    Flock Of Angels
    Follow The Money
    For A Season
    For A Time Such As This
    Fortissimo!
    Forward
    French Horn
    From A Distance
    Frozen Man
    Funny Words
    Gateway
    Genetic Lottery
    Gifting
    God Calling...
    God Save The Queen
    Going In!
    Gone But Not Forgotten
    Gone Fishing
    Good Bones
    Good God Almighty
    Good Government
    Good Luck Skippy
    Gott Mit Uns
    Greatest Is Love
    Great Reset
    Grocery - A Short Story
    Gross Anatomy
    Grunt
    Haka!
    Hammer And Tong
    Hammer Time
    Hands And Eyes
    Hands On
    Happy Rooster
    Hardwired
    Hearing Voices
    Heavy LIfting
    Hello My Juan
    Helping God Show Off
    Hidden In The Secret Place
    Hid In My Heart
    High Dudgeon
    History Bites
    Hockey Tape And Rubber Bands
    Hodge Podge
    Holy Disorder
    Holy Father
    Home Economics
    Hymn Stories
    I AM
    I Cannot Help You
    I Could Be Wrong
    I Dare You
    Idiots
    If You Build It
    If You Get There Before I Do
    If You Go I'll Go
    Im Khalil
    Impossibly Cute
    In A Strange Land
    Incarnation
    In Code
    Incomplete
    Individual
    Influencer
    In My Own Time
    Inner FIfteen Year Old
    In Praise Of Culture
    In Praise Of The Middle
    In The Details
    In The Spirit
    In The Usual Manner
    Invader
    It's All A Stage
    I Will Remember
    Jackass
    Je Me Souviens
    John Henry
    Judge Not
    Jurisprudence
    Just A Few Words
    Just Have Faith
    Justice
    Just In Our Own Time
    Just Like God
    Keep Calm And...
    Keeper
    Keeping House
    Keeping On Keeping On
    KJV
    Knock Yourself Out
    Kumbaya
    Kybo
    Lamentations
    Lawn Nazi
    Lemonade
    Less Is More
    Lessons In Empathy
    Let Me Count The Ways
    Let's Go RIde A BIke
    Licking The Spoon
    Like A Flint
    Linked In
    Little Boxes
    Liturgy
    Lo And Behold
    Logos
    LOL
    Looking Back On The Forward Looking
    Looking For Some Real Good News
    Lord Jesus It’s A FIRE
    Lorem Ipsum Dolor
    Lost And Found
    Lost In Translation
    Luck Of The Stable
    Made To Dance
    Madonna
    Magical
    Make A Baby Laugh
    Make It Nice
    Maker
    Maker’s Mark
    Manifest
    Manwich
    Ma-pitom
    Marbles In Spring
    Measure Of A Man
    Meat Power
    Memory Box
    Men In Loincloths
    Men's Barber Shop
    Messiah
    Middle Ground
    Middleman
    Mistakes All In
    Montreal Spice
    More
    Morse Code
    Mosh Pit
    Moving Parts
    Mr. Good Enough
    Mr. Resolve
    My Neighbour
    Mystery Of The Cheshire Cat
    Myth Of Sisyphus
    My Wife The Movie Star
    Name Calling
    Natural
    Needed Time
    Neighbour
    New Day
    New Wine
    Next To Godliness
    Next Year Country
    No Fancy Diagram Needed
    No King But Caesar
    None Deserving
    North Of Ground Level
    Nothing Particularly Important
    Nothing Personal
    Not Waiting For Godot
    No Wonder
    Oak
    Obsessive
    Offended
    Oh Jerusalem
    Old Growth
    Old White Men
    On Adult Admission
    One Coffee At A Time
    One Smart Farmer
    One Thing
    On Richard Rohr
    On The Lam
    On Writing Clearly
    Ordinary Time
    Orwell For Our Times
    Out Of Egypt
    Over And Again
    Paint Over That
    Paper Boy
    Particularity
    Particularity Of Place
    Particulate Matter
    Part Of The Tradition
    Pater Noster
    Patina
    Pea Game
    Pelagian
    Perfect
    Perfect Crime
    Perfect Ride
    Philosemite
    Pilate's Dilemma
    Pinky Swear
    Place At The Table
    Playing Favourites
    Pop-a-corn!
    Potato War
    Preaching Parrot
    Predators
    Prepper
    Prince
    Print Shop
    Prisoner
    Promises Promises
    Proof Text
    Psalm 1
    Psalm 19
    Psalter
    Put Away The Books
    Putting Up The Lights
    Rainbow
    Recognition
    Red Haired Step Child
    Reduce Reuse Recycle
    Resin
    Restoration
    Resurrection
    Retro
    Rosemary And The Drug Dealers
    Sad Face
    Sandwich
    Say My Name
    Scars
    Scrooge's Bedsheets
    Second Naiveté
    Seeing Red
    Seven Sixty-Five
    Shouting From The Areopagus
    Shrove Tuesday
    Silent Witness
    Slippery Slope
    Small-c
    Small Graces
    Sock Monkeys
    Someone To Watch Over Me
    Song For The Lowly
    Sore Afraid
    Special Language Store
    Squat
    Squeeze Gently
    Starting With What Is True
    Status Quo
    Still True
    Street Food
    String Too Short To Be Saved
    Strongman
    Sufficient To The Day
    Superstar
    Take A Punch
    Takedown
    Talking Head
    Talking Your Parents Down From The Ledge
    Telling The Story
    Thanksgiving
    The Bliss Of Ignorance
    The Church Invisible
    The Crossing King
    The Evil Day
    The General
    The Great Mystery
    The Harrowing Of Hell
    The Joys Of Hash
    The Man Who Was Always Right
    The Other Place
    The Place Beyond Knowing
    The Quickening
    The REAL Jesus
    The Reason For The Season
    Therefore Choose Life
    The Rules
    The Secret History
    The Stand That Wouldn't Stand
    The Table-ness Of A Table
    The Way
    This Is My Body
    This Is The PLACE
    Though One Be Raised From The Dead
    Thoughts On Sixty
    Three Jews And A Gentile
    Thrice Wise
    Throwing The Spaghetti Against The Wall
    Timeless
    Time Vs Time
    Time Warp
    Tim Falladay
    Tims No More
    Tin Hat
    Tonto And Me
    Touching Stones
    Trevor’s Super Bad Day
    Trick Key
    Tubafore!
    Unbelievable
    Under A Bush? HELL NO!
    Uninvited
    Unlikely Saint
    Unmedicated
    Unspectacular
    Use Gently
    U-Turn
    Value Added
    Veni Vidi
    Virge 'n Mary
    WASP
    Watching Paint Dry
    Wayside Chapel
    Weaker Sex (?)
    We Stand On Guard For Thee
    We Were Waiting
    What Are You Prepared To DO?
    What Doesn't Kill You
    What Lazarus Knew
    Wheat Gum
    When Cows Fly
    When Odd Becomes Interesting
    Where Art Comes From
    While You Were Sleeping
    Why I Still Like Cowboys
    Witness
    Woke
    Wood Show
    Words
    Words... The Right Tool
    Worthy Adversary
    Worthy Is The Lamb
    You And Me And Rob

    RSS Feed

Contact Us

    Subscribe Today!

Submit
Picture
  • Home
  • Hello and Welcome
  • Blog
  • Worth Repeating
  • My Book
  • FAQ