As I grow older, I find that more and more, I have the urge to go so far back into the woods that the only sounds that I can hear is the wind blowing and the birds singing.
I call it “listening to the quiet.”
This may sound like a conflicting term to some. I can best explain that it is the absence of all man made noise. I do not consider the sounds of nature as noise.
A look back in history reveals that there have always been others who felt much like me.
The poet William Wordsworth wrote in 1807 “The world is too much with us.” Robert Frost in 1922 in his writing of “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” mentioned of it being so quiet that the only sounds were the wind and the falling snow. Then, he laments that he must go on for he has promises to keep and miles to go before he can sleep.
Such is life today on probably more so.
John Muir, the famed naturalist, wrote on Sept. 3, 1873 in a letter to his sister that the hills (or mountains) were calling him and he must go.
The hymn “How Great Thou Art” – which was based on a poem by Carl Boberg – speaks of wandering through the woods and admiring God’s beauty in nature.
I have heard a number of our local hunters talk about being in the woods at daylight and hearing all the different birds singing at once, as if saying “Good morning” to God in their own way.
In earlier times in Graham County, many of our past relatives would have a certain place in the woods where they would go and pray. People of that time said that it was not unusual to be walking along a road and hear someone up in the woods praying. One place I have heard of specifically as a place where people would go and pray was the ridge behind Lone Oak Baptist Church, in the old part of the cemetery.
Going even farther back to the Bible, we find that John the Baptist spent much of his time in the wilderness. There are a number of times mentioned in the Bible, where Christ would go alone into the mountains to pray. If He felt this need, then it is no wonder that this need is also found in us mortal humans.
Bible scholars say that mountains are mentioned more than 500 times in the Bible.
I think that autumn is our most beautiful time in the mountains.
One writer who remains unknown wrote this line in a poem: “In Autumn we find, rest of body, peace of mind.”
That sums up my feeling exactly.
Marshall McClung is the historical columnist for The Graham Star. He can be reached via email, mcclungs@email.com.