Nature
The imagery of nature is employed to recover a sense of wonder. In fact, one could say that unless the naturalistic imagery is understood in relationship to spiritual wonder, the imagery is misunderstood. To Dillard, the weather, the natural landmarks that shape the earth, and even the elements of nature themselves are surreal and beautiful, and she argues in essay that by appreciating nature, one can attain a transcendent experience of spiritual wonder.
Culture and religion
On top of natural imagery, which Dillard focuses on in the first part of her essays, she also finds evidence for wonder in the imagery of human life, especially in the beautiful religious and cultural lives of people across the planet. She explores this imagery in two ways, macro and micro. On the macro scale, she focuses on her experience of foreign cultures, like the cultures she encountered when traveling to China and Israel. On the micro scale, she focuses on her chance to meet Tielhard de Chardin, whose passionate experience of life contained both religion and a scientific study of culture.
Evil and suffering
Dillard doesn't write this book as a way to escape suffering or evil. She turns to face these issues directly in various essays. She even mentions the historical phenomenon of genocide, explaining how human evil makes suffering even worse than the already-difficult suffering of nature. For all the beauty of nature, nature is also full of suffering and violence, but she notices that human evil makes that natural suffering immeasurably worse, especially since humans have created such dangerous weapons of war.
Drama and the zeitgeist
The dilemma caused by suffering gives the artistic experience of reality a shared burden to strive against evil, to fight for the good guys, and to participate in this imagery. By zeitgeist, Dillard means the ineffable spirit of one's age, like disco in the 70's. The spirit of the age is an important imagery to understand because Dillard explains that people have a responsibility to participate in the seasonal challenges of real life. She finds deep spiritual significance in the fight for love in a world full of chaos and suffering.
