Becoming Landscape
Do you feel the gravity of things? The way the ground feels beneath you? The tension in your chest as you pull in oxygen and dust, thereby disturbing the boundaries between the inside and the outside? Life and death? Feel the gentle drumming of your heart within, its music rippling through your entire body so that you — in almost imperceptible moves — are never not dancing. Never not flowing. You are moving, even though you sit still, here at the precipice.
— Bayo Akomolafe
Whenever we find ourselves immersed in a particularly moody landscape, it becomes strikingly clear how profoundly our environment informs the expression of our inner world. In these moments, the so-called 'outer' and 'inner' worlds are no longer distinct — they are unmistakably interwoven, each shaping the other in a dance of mutual influence. The boundary between the two dissolves, leaving us suspended in a liminal space where we are not merely observers but participants in a deeper, more intimate conversation with the world.
A colossal, dark sky above an arid prairie desert, for instance, pulls us in like an asteroid caught in Earth's orbit — its gravity undeniable, its force unavoidable. The immense, yawning vastness of that sky seems to reflect the expansiveness of the inner terrain we carry within. The climate of mind in that wondrous and rapturous moment syncopates with the external forces around us, creating a kind of symphony — a meeting of inner and outer that feels both mysterious and familiar. In surrender to such a force, we are drawn into an ancient and essential beauty, a harmonious glory that can only be known in the full embrace of such immensity of meaning. It is in these encounters that we come face to face with something larger than ourselves — something that invites us to expand, to open, to be transfigured by the majesty of it all.
But this kind of entrainment isn’t exclusive to dramatic landscapes. It happens everywhere, all the time. In the wide-open plains that stretch out toward infinity, in the fleeting beauty of coastal tidal pools, or in the concrete gridlock of a bustling city. Even in the sterile, white-walled corridors of a dentist's office or a room full of relatives gathered for a holiday meal — the outer world is always in conversation with the inner. Our surroundings, whether grand or humble, continually shape our perceptions, emotions, and thoughts.
So the question becomes: Which landscapes, surroundings, and climates of mind are we choosing to engage with intentionally, and why? What environments do we seek out, and how do they mold our inner experiences, our thoughts, and our emotional responses? These are important questions because they invite us to reflect on how our external environments influence who we are becoming. In the brief, unpredictable existence we have been gifted on this Earth, we must consider how the spaces we inhabit shape our unfolding — not just in the external sense, but in the quiet, often unnoticed ways they transform the landscapes of our hearts and minds.
Are we allowing ourselves to be entrained by environments that bring us into alignment with our deeper selves, that draw out the best and most authentic parts of who we are? Or are we unconsciously being shaped by surroundings that confine us, that limit our imagination and dull our sense of wonder? As we seek to understand who we are meant to become, it is vital to recognize that the places we inhabit are not passive backdrops to our lives — they are living forces, constantly in conversation with the essence of who we are.
And so, we are called to choose our environments wisely. We are invited to step into spaces that awaken something deep within us, that draw us into the sacred rhythm of life itself. In doing so, we not only transform the way we perceive the world but also deepen our connection to the mysterious and unfolding nature of our own becoming. We recognize that every landscape, every surrounding, is an invitation to engage more fully with the mystery of existence — to allow the outer world to draw forth the richness of our inner world, and in that process, to remember who we truly are.