Spirituality and Nature

There were many instances of spirituality in this section of Dillard's work. One of the first things that struck me as spiritual was in the way she described the beauty of certain animals. Her impeccable attention to the specific detail in what she is observing is powerful. Dillard finds spirituality through the realization that these specific details are so awe inspiring that they might possibly have been created by a higher power. In chapter four she describes a moth by saying 'The moth's enormous wings are velveted in a rich, warm brown, and edged in bands of blue and pink delicate as watercolor wash' (Dillard 61). Her description of this moth and other animals she encounters depicts her deep appreciation which opens to spirituality.
Throughout the selected readings, Dillard also references various spiritual leaders including the Buddha and Christ while also mentioning a church. ‘We have brass candles in our houses now; we ought to display praying mantises in our churches’ (Dillard 65). Regardless of what her specific religious beliefs are, (or whether she even beliefs in a specific religion) we know that she is at least pondering the notion of spirituality as it interweaves with her exploration through nature. Dillard also mentions how she feels different once she is surrounded in nature; ‘I walk home exhilarated or becalmed, but always changed, alive.’ (Dillard 186) This reference is not one that pertains to a specific religion but to her sense of general spirituality when she is in nature.