What is the way that leads to life? The narrow way, the way less traveled, the alternative wisdom of Love. It has two closely related dimensions. First, it is an invitation to see God as gracious and womblike rather than as the source and enforcer of the requirements, boundaries, and divisions of conventional wisdom to a life that is more and more centered in God. The alternative wisdom of Love sees the religious life as a deepening relationship with the Spirit of God, not as a life of requirements and reward.
The oaks of 1910 were now ten years old and taller than either of us. It was such an impressive sight that I was struck dumb, and, as he never spoke, we spent the whole day in silence walking through his forest. When I reminded myself that all this was the work of the hand and soul of this one man, with no mechanical help, it seemed to me that after all we might be as effective as God in tasks other than destruction.