Fog and the redwoods it nurtures

BY CHANNING WALKER

THE GIGANTIC REDWOODS THAT tower over much of the Northern California coast are disappearing and may vanish entirely in the coming decades. For anyone who's hiked or biked or driven through redwood forests, this is a tragedy.

A morning amble through the woods—socked in by fog as they so often are—is wondrously renewing. Over the cool ocean waters, the fog forms. Then it's hauled ashore as inland air, which is warmer and drier, rises.

However, for some time now the ocean temperature along the coast has been warming. Less fog develops now. Researchers say there is about three hours less fog per day today than there was a century ago. Less fog means less shelter for the redwoods, shelter they apparently need in order to survive.

In the past, if I ever thought of fog at all, it was most often metaphorically—the mental state I found myself in if I'd read too much by physicist Stephen Hawking at one sitting. If I thought of fog literally, it was as an ephemeral nuisance. But now, as I think of fog, I'm much more likely to view it as a plus, not a minus.

For instance, a while back I became lost while kayaking on a lake I know well. It was blanketed with dense fog. Eventually, I came upon a bit of the shoreline. I knew that if I hugged the shoreline as I paddled, I'd eventually regain my starting point. As I paddled that day, the fog opened my eyes rather than closed them. I saw features of the shoreline—its curves and coves, its boulders and beaches—that I'd never really seen during many previous outings on the lake.

Not just my view of the shoreline changed that day. My view of fog also began to shift. And that changed view hinted at a new perspective, one that uncovers problem-solving answers.

From this new perspective I began to see a power for good, as well as an unexpected eye-opener, in fog. It is strong enough to both shelter and nourish entire forests. Ultimately these good effects come from the divine source of all good, which is God. This spiritual perspective—what might be termed a God's-eye-view—sees good solutions where a matter-based perspective sees none.

What we could call the might of the fog, the sheltering presence of the fog, the nurturing power of the fog, are not, strictly speaking, of the fog. They are of God, of the one divine Spirit and Mind of the universe. That's why the waning of Pacific fogs is not inevitable. Conventional logic would argue that the redwoods need more fog, and the fog needs a cooler ocean, and a cooler ocean needs a host of different things—including, perhaps, changed human behavior.

Yet, a more spiritual perspective nudges human consciousness in a holy direction. Then solutions, including unexpected ones, come into view. Good answers emerge from the mist, as we perceive that every bit of good has a divine source. Because there is no limit to divine inspiration, these solutions may include answers that help preserve and restore the useful balance of sunshine and fog and ocean temperature so invaluable to the redwoods.

When Christ Jesus walked on water, the strength of the water to uphold him was not in the water. It was in the Spirit or Mind called God, and therefore available to be expressed in God's creation. Turning to this divine Mind, infinite Spirit, as he regularly did, Jesus found a practical, albeit unexpected, answer in walking on the water (see Matt. 14:22–34).

Sentinel founder Mary Baker Eddy, a devoted follower of Jesus, wrote the primary work on Christian Science. The book includes a passage that brings a unique, Biblically informed perspective on two phenomena of nature: rocks and mountains. Does the following passage hint at a line of reasoning applicable to other features of nature: fog, sunshine, oceans, and redwoods included? With utter clarity the book says, "Spiritually interpreted, rocks and mountains stand for solid and grand ideas" (Science and Health, p. 511).

A spiritual interpretation of the scene, including fog, sunshine, and so on, changes everything. The nurturing power of God begins to dawn. Good solutions appear.

Spiritual ideas have power, have restorative capacity, have a nurturing presence. One just needs to remember where these good spiritual properties come from—the Mind and Spirit that are God. Then practical answers, even for things as sweeping as a forest of thirsty redwoods, must come into view. The beauty and balance of God's spiritual creation must grow more apparent on the human scene. CSS

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