Nature's Cathedrals

Some of the most interesting times at camp come when I'm doing absolutely nothing at all.  It's a chance to breathe and to let thoughts drift into my head at their leisure.  One of those times occurred when I was able to sit out in the woods while waiting for people to stop by our circuit course.  The circuit course is located in the middle of the woods with trees entirely surrounding it.  It was a gorgeous, gorgeous day, where the light hitting the leaves seemed to show off every single shade of green that ever existed.  I could not help but look up and sit in admiration of the beautiful canopy, and I was struck by the resemblance to Gothic architecture.  Now, you all should be warned that I do have a degree in history, as well as a deep love of Gothic cathedrals, and it's all about to meet up with nature, so get excited.

What sets Gothic architecture apart from the earlier European architectural style (which is Romanesque, if you want to be in the know), is its focus on light and height.  These are the churches that are built with soaring towers and brilliant stained glass.  Sitting in the forest, I saw many of the same things.  The trees were my towers, drawing my eyes upward, and the leaves became my stained glass.

I was quickly reminded of La Sagrada Familia, the cathedral in Barcelona that I visited two years ago.  Gaudi designed Sagrada Familia around the shapes of nature, basically bringing the forest into a city.  The columns in the central nave are meant to represent giant trees, with their "canopy" creating the roof of the sanctuary.

I mean, first of all, how cool is that?  I heart you, Sagrada Familia, forever and ever.  And I can't help but wonder if Gaudi had a similar experience to what I had in the circuit course, with his eyes drawn upward and thinking, "hey, this is just like a cathedral."  His response: a gorgeous church that has been under construction for about a century.  My response: write a blog post.  I guess we all process things differently.