Wonders Of Our World
How can you NOT believe that there is something else, whatever you might call it, when octopuses dream and otters have a favorite rock they carry around in a little skin pocket and cows and bunnies have best friends and bees are out there communicating the coordinates of flowers through dancing and they have regional dialects?
Cats are purring at frequencies associated with bone healing? Forests get absolutely incinerated and respond by growing flowers? Dolphins literally invent names for themselves and yell them across the ocean? Penguins are waddling around Antarctica looking for the perfect rock to give their partner?
CROWS REMEMBER YOUR FACE. THEY TELL OTHER CROWS ABOUT YOU. THEY TELL THEIR CHILDREN ABOUT YOU. YOU CAN HAVE GENERATIONAL BEEF WITH A BIRD. I NEED YOU TO UNDERSTAND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS.
Goats have accents. Rats laugh when you tickle them. Elephants mourn their dead. Whales make songs and then OTHER WHALES LEARN THE SONG and suddenly everybody across the ocean is singing the new song.
Monarch butterflies are born knowing how to fly thousands of miles to a place they have never been.
Sea turtles hatch out of an egg, immediately sprint toward an ocean that they have never seen, disappear into it for like 3 decades and then somehow come back to the same beach they hatched on.
Birds can see colors that we humans can’t see. There are colors out there right now that we don’t even get to know about.
There are sea slugs that eat algae and use the chloroplast/chlorophyll and then are just like…photosynthesizing. And they’re super adorable.
There are mushrooms communicating underground. There are seeds sitting in the dirt for decades like “no actually I will wait. It’s fine.” Squirrels plant trees because they forget where they put their snacks. Relatable. A CATERPILLAR GOES INTO A LITTLE BAG THAT IT CREATES ITSELF AND DISSOLVES MOST OF ITS BODY INTO ORGANIC GOO AND REARRANGES ITSELF, GROWS WINGS AND THEN LEAVES. WHY IS THIS NOT MORE BEAUTIFULLY TERRIFYING TO PEOPLE?? And you’re telling me a tiny acorn knows how to become a huge tree? It just has a blueprint inside itself? Your body started as ONE CELL. ONE. And that cell divided itself into a brain that can think about its own existence and eyes that can look at stars and hands that can hold somebody else’s hands and a heart that runs on electricity without you even asking it to? The iron in our blood was made inside a star?? We are walking around on a wet rock covered in bioluminescent oceans and singing whales and laughing rats and birds holding lifelong grudges and flowers exploding out of fire and somehow we’re supposed to act like this is a normal place to live? We’re supposed to act like this is all just a random, accidental sequence of events? -Author unknown
Sculptor Keiji Izumi
"Using familiar people as motifs, with precise wood carving techniques, he creates humorous human figures intertwined with landscapes and objects." They are colorful and zany!
detail
Dr. Qing Li:
Forest Bathing
Gert outside of Copenhagen many moons ago, timing his trips home to enjoythe blooming of these pretty white flowers every year…
What is this secret power of trees that makes us so much healthier and happier? How is it that we feel less stressed and more energetic when we immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of the forest? As an immunologist and clinical professor, these are questions he sets out to answer, beginning with the hypothesis that it is well known that the immune system, including natural killer cells (NK cells), plays an important role in the defense against bacteria, viruses, and tumors. It is also common knowledge that stress inhibits immune function. It is common sense that spending time in the forest, which individuals perceive as relaxing, can reduce stress. Therefore, I speculated that Shinrin-Yoku might have a positive effect on immune function by reducing stress. The many studies I have conducted with my research teams since 2004 to investigate the effect of forest environments on human health have provided clear, evidence-based proof of this..
"I have loved nature and forests since I was a child…In my village, there were green poplar forests and a beautiful apricot forest that bloomed pink throughout April. I came to Japan in 1988 and studied at Kagoshima University. At that time, my friends and I visited a very beautiful, mysterious green forest on Yakushima, a small round island.
The quiet atmosphere, the beautiful scenery, the mild climate, the particularly good smells, the fresh, clean air in the forest, and the large Japanese cedars and Jomon Sugi made me very happy and relaxed. I was grateful for all its abundance and beauty.
I came to believe that being in the forest is absolutely necessary for human health. This fascinating and inspiring visit had an important impact on the entire direction of my life and future research.""
If you want to hear more, here is a youtube interview with Qing Li. After listening you might just beeline to your nearest park or forest and view trees in a whole new way...
Painting of the Week
Detail of Green Garden, Purple Heart. mixed media on canvas. 50” x 80”. $8500
Charity of the Week:
Please consider donating to Troy Jackson’s campaign in order to defeat Susan Collins. We need the help—money-wise, phone banking, canvassing, etc.
About The Author
New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow, began writing the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her and her art, visit her website and check out the essay written by Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.