In the Celtic tradition some places and times are called thin and refer to a place or time when this reality is so close to the spiritual that the distance between the two is said to be “paper thin.” Sometimes, these time are prescriptive, but most are times of serendipity, that is to say they are unexpected, and often are times when we feel especially close to the creator. The creator is always present to us but there are times when our view is distorted because of where we are spiritually or physically and we are looking from the wrong angle.
At the time of writing this article my wife and I are in the Coachella Valley, the traditional territories of the Cahuilla people. For me, on various visits, it has been a place of renewal and reflection where I can experience spirit, however, I never expected this to be my experience in this place. You see I am an islander, and my reality and experience of the creator is found on the beach, by the ocean, in the sea.
Early one morning I went for a walk in the desert. The moon was hanging on for the final moments of the night. The rising sun in the east was making its way into the day. One was saying goodbye in the west, the other was saying hello in the east. As the sun rose the red sky reflected on Mount San Jacinto. The redness crept down the mountain and then along the desert floor. In the coolness and silence of the morning, the smell of the desert, the touch of the sun on my head and the taste of sand in the air I experienced the divine. I was in that place and at the right angle, it was serendipity.
In various locations in the town there are charity shops named Angel View. The name comes from a shape outlined on Mount San Jacinto on one side of the pass into the valley. When viewed from a particular angle the rock formation looks like an angel. On our various visits we saw the mountain but I have never been able to see an angel. Folk have said that they don’t understand why I can’t see it because it is so obvious. It is not that these things are lost on me, I just did not see it.
The trip this year was particularly challenging and when we arrived I was exhausted. It is enough to say that the beginning of 2023 was particularly difficult for me. I had begun this new year with my head down and feeling sorry for myself. I was in the wrong place and angle in my relationship with the divine
One day we were driving into town and for the first time I saw the angel on Mount San Jacinto. It was not prescriptive, it was serendipitous. The weather was cold and wet and the mountain had snow on its top. The snow had created a nimbus and outlined the angel’s head. For the first time the arms and the body outlined in the stone were obvious to me. I wasn’t expecting to see this; however, at the right angle and in the right place I saw the angel for the first time. It was the impetus I needed to lift up my head and be open to the creator.
As we travel into this new year with all of its challenges and trials let us look at what we face from a different angle and find ourselves open to the creator.
Now retired, Bishop Logan McMenamie is currently living in Youbou and is the Interim Clergy at St. Peter Quamichan.
You can read more articles on our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking at https://www.timescolonist.com/blogs/spiritually-speaking
This article was published in the print edition of the Times Colonist on Saturday, February 4th 2023
