'Some people see in a tree nothing but a source of wood and, accordingly, measure its value in dollars. Others esteem it as giver of shade on sultry summer days and have an eye for its beauty. 

    And then there are those who are aware of all these aspects but, in addition, experience a tree as one of the marvels of creation: a living, growing organism endowed with a special set of sense responsive to light, gravity, moisture, temperature, pressure, and time; a chemical factory of incredible complexity and sophistication surpassing anything created by human hands, seething with inner activity, providing, in the process of converting solar energy into food, the oxygen indispensable to all the creatures on earth, including man.

People, who can see the wonder in a tree, who can extrapolate from a tree to a forest, who can look at a single tree and realise the cosmic implications of all plants - such people have scaled one of the mountains of the mind.

    The key to reaching such hights is imagination. Imagination is the power to form mental images of something not actually experienced, of reaching out into the unknown and coming back with visions, of drawing conclusions, combining different and sometimes seemingly unrelated observations and coming up with concepts that are greater than the sum of their parts.

Imagination is like a ladder in the realm of thought. Step by step, it can take the mind higher and higher, from one image or concept to another, set in motion at the bottom rung by a casual observation and rewarding us at the summit with an insight that encompasses vast realms, like the view from a mountain.' (Andreas Feininger) 

Perfect Imperfection

Just stumbled across this beautiful butterfly. It just got me seeing this graceful creature with torn wings on a decaying leave. Reading A. Feininger and looking at his brilliant photographs reminds me of the beauty of nature, life and all beings.

The geometrical perfection of creation in all living things. The symmetry in nature like this butterfly. Even his ornamental design on his wings is symmetrically. A marvel of nature. One wing mirrors the opposite one.

But if you look at the picture you see also asymmetry. The wings are torn and so is the symmetrical pattern broken. The leave is peppered with asymmetrical holes. Traces of life. Circle of living. Imperfection of beauty? Beautiful imperfection! I love it!

I am not quite happy with the title. Too often the idea of 'vanitas' gets misinterpreted and just limited to the transience of beauty as a physical feature, related to the emotion of vanity. It's much more than the decay of physical beauty. It is the understanding of inanity, nothingness, voidness of all living things. No one and for sure not the human race has any kind of control over life, the earth and nature - and there is certainly no need for it.

'Why are there no trees?' and he pointed towards the Phewa Lake shore, asking their new local friend of the day. Those guy how finally was so penetrating and encouraging funny that he parked his ass on the couch next to them. 'Why are there no trees?' repeating the question in his slow french english. 'You know. Slowly, slowly growing. His for his part. His for his part.' and he although pointed towards the Phewa Lakes shore and the in bamboo framed young shoots of native trees. Most rhododendrons. The national tree of Nepal. 'Was it ever like that?' he asked in his french english. 'Before you know street like this' and his two pointing fingers came together about three to four inches. 'Like other side you know.'

They were looking at each other. 'H ah H ah' his Nelson laugh with french accent silencing the 'H'. 'H ah, H ah. First They take trees away. Than they planed new one. H ah, H ah.' A dry bitter statement wrapped into same dry 'H ah H ah's.

        To all the things we love and don't understand. It's a paradox. Isn't it? Is it? One can declare the nonsense of human actions. One can sink into sadness of the useless destruction of nature for human pleasantness. OR you can see the new growing shoots of rhododendrons, planted by the families and owners of the Phewa Lake restaurants themselves as the change that is happening all over the world. A change for the better. Taken by oneself in owns actions.

… or maybe just a compromise and splendid shady spots on the shore of the Phewa Lake. … mindbubbling … PERCEPTIO ERGO SUM … end of mindbubbling ...