Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Cafe
A lot of mornings I wake up with some random song running through my head. Today it was “Climb Every Mountain,” a song of encouragement flowing from the lips of Julie Andrews in “The Sound of Music,” urging us on to “follow every rainbow….till you find your dream.” Clearly, we might have to climb mountains and ford streams to reach that dream, as the words intone.
John Muir, also known as “John of the Mountains” and “The Father of National Parks,” the founder of the Sierra Club, had just such a journey. Muir was born in Scotland and emigrated from there with his family when he was 11. He was always drawn to nature. His rather restless spirit got him into conflict with his very strict fundamentalist father. While he rejected his childhood teachings of a formidable God, he remained characterized by an understanding of nature as “the true sanctuary of God.” He called all of nature “Godful.”
As an adult, Muir faced an immense challenge that influenced the course he took in life. In 1866,when he was working in a wagon wheel factory, a tool he was using slipped and hit him in the eye, impacting his vision. His other eye also deteriorated. He was kept in total darkness for six weeks in hopes of restoring the vision, which was forever impaired, though he was not left blind. He did some soul searching and concluded that he would radically alter his life’s direction.
The next year he set out walking a thousand miles from Kentucky down to Florida, arriving at Cedar Key, FL., where he secured employment with a Richard Hodgson, working at the Hodgson sawmill. However, after only three days he contracted a form of malaria, was in a state of delirium for nearly three months and nearly died. He recognized when he recovered that the care he had received from Hodgson and his wife during this time had saved his life.
One evening sitting on the Hodgsons’ roof watching the sunset, he saw a ship, the Island Belle, and learned it was soon to sail for Cuba. He purchased passage on it, heading to Havanna, where he studied shells and flowers and visited the city’s botanical gardens. Eventually he would make his way to California, settling in San Francisco. He worked for a time in Yosemite where he did indeed climb mountains, including Cathedral Peak and Mount Dana. He built a cabin near Yosemite Creek, designed such that a section of the creek ran through a corner of the cabin so that he could always hear running water. In his bookFirst Summer in the Sierra he wrote about his experiences there.
I recognize that learning about Muir has had special meaning to me as our country faces a time when public lands are threatened. This was true in Muir’s time, motivating him to fight to save areas for national forests. As he wrote: “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home, that wilderness is a necessity.” Now more than ever we need the sustenance of nature. May the life and work of Muir challenge us to work on the behalf of our public lands and for our Mother Earth.
The invitation is open to share “two cups of tea” anytime at Hope’s Café, or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.
May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter. Shalom, Kate
Hope's Cafe 