At the end of June 2025, I finished my Chaplaincy Residency and began a much-needed break. Part of my recharge was a trip to Australia to revisit my previous life working in lighting for the live entertainment business.
While in Australia I added a side trip to see the rock formations of Uluru and KataTjuta in the Outback. On my second day there, I sat at the base of Uluru’s massive red formation and placed my hands on the earth to further connect with nature. As the sun beat down, and I breathed in the serenity of the land, I came to realize one irrefutable fact: Uluru had been there millions of years before I arrived, and it would be there millions more after I die. The life that this section of earth has seen is boundless, and I was but a tiny blip in the line of its existence.
As I sat there transfixed and humbled an overwhelming feeling of interconnectedness with humanity, our earth, and all of nature filled my being. Gently and slowly, I began to relax for, what felt like, the first time since my residency completed.
My moments at Uluru are an examples of how my viewpoints and beliefs align with those of the Religious Naturalist Association:
• In recognizing beauty and the power in natural forces, we may be moved by a
sense of wonder or awe at the intricate order that enables our lives and all of
the varied forms of life in our world.
• In seeing ourselves as being part of this, we may feel a sense of belonging, and
of shared roots and connection to other people and living things.