Levels of Creation

Last evening, as I strolled down the rail trail, I was thinking of my theory about the three levels of creation. The first level is that of things that come into existence through means unknown to us as humans – including spiral galaxies, bacteria, people, plants and protoplasm. Mystery.

The second level consists of those things that the first level creatures create – the hummingbird’s nest, a pizza pie, the nest of an an, a wasp, or a Michaelangelo. It takes a particular kind of intention, it takes the caress of hands, beaks, claws.

The third level are the things, like traffic signs, or barbie dolls, that come from some kind of automated assembly line and have no direct contact with the caress of its creator – human or otherwise.

As I walked, and looked about, and took in the grasses, the bird songs, the clouds reflecting the lights of the setting sun, the greening mountains, the snow still covering some peaks, I felt an immersion into this first level of creation. All of it here for me to enjoy – to love – to learn from – and not one thing I can do to create it. I could try to destroy some of it – but life is persistent. You see it seeking growth everywhere.

The clouds were particularly brilliant … as they are each night – and I was feeling the ephemeral nature of it all. This particular combination of colors, shapes, textures, sounds, smells, sensations, and my own thoughts would never occur again. I was walking alone, there was no one else on the path at the time – and I was the only one in all of creation witnessing this moment of pure beauty in this particular time and place. It felt, for a moment, like a heavy burden as well as a great privilege.