When I was a child my parents worshipped the earth and everything on it. Spirits, we were taught, dwell in every rock, tree, and animal. All being worthy of respect and love.

I still believe that, to some degree. I don't worship these things anymore, but I see them more as brothers and sisters. When I hike, I am careful not to hurt or disturb the environment, not out of a sense of new age environmentalism, but because I don't want to disrespect the things that live there, both spiritual and physical.

This clashes a lot with the thought process of modern Christians though. I'm not sure why, because in the Bible Jesus speaks to the wind and sea and tells them to be calm. It's like we've separated the spiritual from the religious, and it's really been bothering me lately.