Beholding the Beauty that Surrounds Us

Just as the beauty of nature is taking hold in landscapes this month, we are letting nature take over this Practicing Presence blog post. What follows is a collaborative photo essay from people who took time (and their cameras/phones) to stop and be present to the stunning beauty of nature wherever they were. Thank you to our contributors and to the divine source of the nature captured in these images.

Orchid, International Orchid Festival, Okinawa, Japan (Photo credit: Lisa Richardson)

Photo credit: Cindy Roberts

Puerto Cabo, Mexico (Photo credit: Angie Balmer)

Butchart Gardens, Victoria Island, Canada (Photo credit: Lisa Richardson)

Photo credit: Cindy Roberts

Blue Agave, Puerto Cabo, Mexico (Photo credit: Melanie P. Moore)

Butchart Gardens, Victoria Island, Canada (Photo credit: Lisa Richardson)

Photo credit: Cindy Roberts

Bird of Paradise, Puerto Cabo, Mexico (Photo credit: Stacey Jefferson)

Photo credit: Cindy Roberts

Crown of Thorns, Puerto Cabo, Mexico (Photo credit: Angie Balmer)

Photo credit: Cindy Roberts

Butchart Gardens, Victoria Island, Canada (Photo credit: Lisa Richardson)

Photo credit: Cindy Roberts

Water lily, Zilker Botanical Garden, Austin, Texas (Photo credit: Lisa Richardson)

Backyard garden, Austin, Texas (Photo credit: Stacey Jefferson)

Plumeria tree, Puerto Cabo, Mexico (Photo credit: Melanie P. Moore)

Photo credit: Lisa Richardson

Photo credit: Cindy Roberts

Puerto Cabo, Mexico (Photo credit: Laura LeBoeuf)

Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, Houston, Texas (Photo credit: Lisa Richardson)

Photo credit: Cindy Roberts

Puerto Cabo, Mexico (Photo credit: Melanie P. Moore)

Photo credit: Cindy Roberts

Photo credit: Cindy Roberts

Austin, Texas (Photo credit: Stacey Jefferson)

Photo credit: Cindy Roberts

Photo credit: Cindy Roberts