Expansive - Revealing the Otherwise Unseen
A friend of mine was recently speaking at a conference in Iowa and during a text exchange, I said something about her waking up in “open sky country.” After living in Colorado and South Dakota for more than half of my life, I miss “big skies.” I am pretty sure that’s why I am drawn to the sunrises at Winton Woods and the overlookat Glenwood Gardens that I can easily access. They both give a sense of that wide-open sky unencumbered by trees and hills blocking the horizon (although both have plenty of trees blocking the actual horizon). So it is that sense that I go to when reflecting on the word “expansive.” But that word can also speak to seeing the otherwise unseen - things that are revealed only when the conditions are right to see them, those that require deliberate intention to see, or those that require some kind of equipment to really see. Here’s what I have seen:
Glory Rays
A few weeks ago,
wrote about “glory rays” shining out from behind evening clouds. She didn’t elaborate on what those exactly were but i imagined them to be those moments when the conditions are just right for rays of light to be visible. Normally, we don’t necessarily “see” light - we just see the effects of it. But when the conditions are just right, we can see pathways of light illuminated. I used to call those “light rays” but after reading Carrie’s name for it, they are now glory rays to me. One of the conditions for these are foggy mornings when the sun is still low-ish behind some of the trees and the light, the fog, and the trees combine to give moments like these. (I find black and white reveals them even more). There is an expansiveness to these for me that the light that is shining through the openings in the trees and through the fog and haze has traveled 93 million miles to come to that point and that moment. 93 million miles to right here.
Spiderwebs
One of the hazards of early morning walks in the woods are the unseen spiderwebs that have been spun over night. You’re walking along and suddenly you are wiping away webs that you walked right into. Most times, we don’t see the spider-webs but, like above, there are times when everything is just right and these majestic creations are visible and glorious. Sometimes there is a heavy dew and the webs are gently covered in droplets and other times it is just when the sun is at the perfect angle. I marvel at how these tiny creatures create such majestic shapes. And even when I am spitting out a web that I walked right into, I am also saddened becuase I have just destroyed a creature’s hard work and possibly a work of art. The first of these images is one that combines two copies of the same image -one in black and white to emphasize the spiderweb and the rest in color where some glory rays are visible. The other is simply a web illuminated by the early morning sun. And say hello to the artist who is resting in the middle of their creation in the second image.
Equipment
And finally, some of this “unseen” expansiveness comes when you have some kind of equipment to see something that might not be able to be seen otherwise. In this case, it is a zoom lens that allowed me to get up close to this monarch butterfly without scaring it off.1 This was just outside our back door in our garden’s butterfly bush. Even if I were right up close to this monarch, there’s no way that my eyes could see the detail of its tiny legs, be able to count all the spots, and see this majestic creature in all its wonder and beauty. As I look at this butterfly I also reflect on the ways that it experiences the world in ways beyond what I do. There’s an expansiveness in that tiny, delicate, and yet impossibly strong creature.
Finally, one that doesn’t really fall into any of these categories but I’ll also say that this practice also takes some intentional work. In this case, it was crouching down in a really awkward (and probably funny looking) way to frame this just right. I couldn’t bend down to do it very well without craning my neck really weird and the ring in the railing would have been too tall if I was kneeling. So weird crouch it was...
I love how, in the Gospels, Jesus uses ordinary things for so many of his parables about expansiveness. These are often items or people which would be otherwise unseen - A tiny seed, grains of yeast, or a woman giving a tiny amount to the temple. Yet each leads to or reveals an expansiveness. The seed and the yeast are shared of how the tiniest things can grow into something far larger. The woman is lifted up as an example of expansive generosity - giving sacrificially and without fanfare. Expansiveness.
In the coming days, I’ve got some other ponderings about expansiveness to share.
Movies - messages from three recentl films - The Life of Chuck, The Fantastic Four, and Superman
Walking in the Woods
The expansiveness of science and curiosity
Tie dyed summer camp tshirts
Referencing Inigo Montoya about the uses of the word “expansive”
And a theology of expansiveness
Grace, Peace, Love, Hope, and Joy,
Ed
PS - Scout says HELLO!
Other equipment like this would be a macro lens, binoculars, a telescope, or a microscope.
Leaning into the light sustains my soul. Beautiful captures
Expansive post! I recall seeing such light in the far north of Wisconsin, on a summer evening and the cabin owner said, "oh those, those are crepuscular rays, just before it starts getting dark." Crepuscular, such a satisfying, roll off the tongue (if one can remember it) word! Glory or God rays suit them to a T! Thank you!