Earth Goddess, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Created by Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal

Last week, we visited the Atlanta Botanical Garden. (We are members and visit at least once a season.) While sitting in front of the Earth Goddess, feeling the flow and beauty of the visitors and the day in general, the woman sitting next to me on a small bench asked if she could share something with me. I said sure. She proceeded to read a prayer she had written on her phone out loud to me. She looked directly into my soul. She explained, “I am sitting here looking at these displays on the water. They are moving due to the wind and the current of the water and yet they remain in position because something is anchoring them.” She proceeded to detail the way in which the metal lotus sculptures that rest in the Goddess’ pool withstand heat and storms and life. She then offered scripture, explaining that Jesus is life’s anchor. I sat with her in oneness. She texted me the text of her prayer after we hugged, before we parted ways. 

Beyond a simple greeting — in some ways, simple greetings are expressions of oneness — I was not on an intentional oneness expedition when I sat down. This was an organic experience. I suppose that is the true nature of oneness. There was something more happening than her specific message. Her words were not what struck me most about the moment. In that moment, we were not strangers. In that moment, our lives were prayers. In that moment, everything stopped — all the families taking pictures, the children trying to jump into the water, the music piped into the garden. It was perfection that I could not have choreographed. (Maybe I did, in a sense, call it into being. By exploring a wild new world, I was open and ready to receive the experience.) I am reminded that I must pay attention and accept the gift of oneness wherever and whenever it appears. I am reminded that there is something deeper than words between people. I am reminded we are beautiful and we are one.