MANNA

The Israelites are finally fleeing their oppressive Egyptian masters, eagerly leaving behind their lives of hardship, slavery, and death. According to the biblical narrative, a land has been prepared for them, a place that will restore them and be the Ideal for which they long as captured in the well-worn phrase ‘land of milk and honey’. But for reasons too long to list here they do not go on to inhabit that land right away, but end up spending 40 years in the wilderness. It is in the desert that manna takes centre stage. Broadly, manna is bread that is said to have fallen from the sky to feed the people in this period (Exo. 16; Num. 11:7-8). Whether or not one thinks this to be true or merely fiction, consider manna in the following manner.

There are periods in our lives when we spend time in the wilderness, when, for whatever reason(s), we find ourselves in a difficult place that is bereft of life in so many aspects. The question then becomes, what is our manna in our desert? What is it that nourishes, restores, strengthens and sustains you when your soul is parched? How and in what do you find relief and refreshment when you are struggling, stressed or even burnt out? A walk in the woods, a hot bath, a bicycle ride, dancing to music?

ART (attention restoration theory) is a psychological framework that helps us understand why things that are nourishing and regenerating for us are precisely that. Stephen Kaplan (1995) found four aspects of experiences that make them restorative. I will share the core of it here, but you can read the free article here. The first aspect is being away and it is more about conceptually being away rather than actually going away from your usual surroundings, although it can be both; an old environment can be experienced in a new way. Typical places for ‘being away’ are the seaside, mountains, places with lakes, forests, streams, etc. The second aspect is fascination. Though not exclusively, in natural environments in particular it is easy to find things to capture our attention without them requiring much of us, e.g. clouds, sunsets, snow patterns, etc. Paying attention to these things is effortless and leaves plenty of space for our mind to wander and think about other things. Interestingly, fascination is central but not sufficient in restorative experiences.

The third aspect is extent which means that the environment must provide enough extent either in time (e.g. historic place) or space (e.g. nature), and needs to engage our mind. The place needs to be rich enough and coherent enough to feel like another place, and also a place in which we could go far, in one way or another. The final aspect is compatibility between us and the environment. This means that that the place has to be compatible with what we are trying to do and what we would like to do. You will know that the place is compatible with who you are when the activities you intend and undertake go smoothly and without a fuss.

So I leave you with these questions: are you in a wilderness at the moment? If so, what is your manna? Do you know? What might you need in order to seek it out and gather it, engage with it and allow it to restore you? 

(c) Belinda É. Samari

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