Happy Earth Day to one and all! Here, in recognition of the day, is a piece of the earth on Nicollet Island, a cut of the riverside bluff upon which I frequently stand and gaze over the river. Here we are able to examine the earth's outer attire of wild and windblown grass, as well as her nether regions, where roots and rocks and dirt conspire to provide a solid stage for all of us to enact our lives' dramas upon. We each play our roles, take our bows, and are promptly replaced by others. Through it all, the earth remains, constant and unchanging, spinning on its axis, in its orbit, in a universe without end, timeless and indifferent. Happy Earth Day, you inscrutable planet, spin on and prosper!
It seemed only fitting that I should give second billing to that which is not earth, to the earth's counterpart—namely, sky. The immensity of sky dwarfs the earth, renders it infinitesimal, almost completely insignificant. And yet, our earth seems to imbue this lovely blue sky with a beauty and significance it would not otherwise possess. But of course, this beauty and significance only exists by virtue of our human consciousness, the romantic and arbitrary notions we project upon what we see and feel and experience. And thank the heavens and the earth that we are here, and possess such awareness and sensibilities as can make of this existence a thing of joy and wonder. To look upon the blue sky and the green grass and everything in between, with eyes that may be dazzled, flesh that may rise with excitement, and minds that may be enriched and developed to nearly limitless proportions—what more can any living creature ask for?
While walking the earth this morning, I was amused to encounter this fellow periscoping his yin-yang head over the gentle rise of an island knoll. It seems like a still taken from a film titled "Attack of the 50-Foot Goose!" (If such a film existed, I would happily pay to see it.) I find that, if you go out walking each day, you can almost always encounter something interesting, amusing or thought-provoking—if you are paying attention.
I thought that, in addition to earth and sky, the other element one ought not leave out of a tribute to Earth Day, is water—which, in my small corner of the world, is represented by Old Muddy. Therefore, as I got closer to home, I peered over a bluff and snapped this shot of my favorite island bridge. The network of branches, the lines of the bridge, the reflections in the river—all of it suggests to my fanciful mind the complex and impressive scaffolding nature throws up to support our hungry imaginations. Nature and the earth feed us in so many more ways than one.
Before heading home, I turned my gaze skyward once more, only to discover that clouds had stretched their gray beards across the firmament, and—at that very moment—an aeronautic agent of human ingenuity was cutting through the beards as smoothly as a steamship glides across the ocean or a Japanese bullet train whizzes on its rails over the Nipponese countryside.
As I lowered my eyes to the earth, so as to begin moving my feet in the direction of home, I was struck by the sight that greeted me: I had just witnessed the dizzying heights to which humanity was capable of ascending, only to encounter this eloquent reminder of humanity's more lowly products, of which we are not proud, which we are loath to acknowledge, and which we quickly hide inside the earth.Happy Earth Day indeed!
Life flows on, in and around us—and will continue to do so, as long as earth, sea and sky together give it place.
D.E.S.
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