Randomly opened to the following passage in Rudolph Steiner's "How to Know Higher Worlds":
"The ideal situation would be to pursue our esoteric training among green plants and sunny mountains, surrounded by the loveliness of nature’s simplicity. This would produce harmony in our inner organs that would never be possible in modern cities. In other words, a person who has grown up surrounded by fragrant pines, snowy peaks, and the quiet bustle of forest animals and insects is better prepared for esoteric work than the person born in the city. Yet none of us, even if we must live in a city, should fail to nourish the organs developing in their soul and spirit with the inspired teachings of spiritual science. If we cannot see the forests turning green day by day each spring, we should at least nourish our hearts with the lofty teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, the Gospel of St John, and with the findings of spiritual science."
Rudolph Steiner, How to Know Higher Worlds, p. 93
Thank you, Uncle Robert an Aunt Agnes, for the Blazed Pine sanctuary - where the piney fragrance greeted us, the sweet sigh of the wind in the branches soothed us, the waves on the lake invited us to play, the starry skies inspired us, the surrounding mountains imprinted strength and faith.