Watching the earth breath in and out reminds me that this system is alive.
Alive in a way we might not fully understand as the pieces and connections are known yet the interactions a complex.
We have the knowledge yet lack the understanding or so it seems.
How to make it understood is a question we seem to struggle with. Perhaps seeing and observing can help in some way soften the mind to consider complex ideas and then understanding will follow. Time spent just looking is thus time well spent.
Fountain Paint Pots, Yellowstone National Park, 2018.
I feel that way when it thaws in spring, or there’s ground fog in the winter. But this series really makes the point that it’s a living, dynamic system…Great narration!
The cycle of life is indeed well illustrated in the spring thaw.
Indeed, everything , even inanimate objects seem to have life. Wonderful photos.
Yes life is something we have narrowly defined and who’s definition is still a subject of debate.
I was just on the Big Island in Hawaii, where there is currently no lava flowing, but the steam vents are still steaming. I was struck by the fact that there were lava flows there younger than I was and by the odd smell near the vents — it smelled like hot rock. Like you, it struck me that the earth is alive and still growing, even as pieces of it wear away. Amazing to be someplace that makes you feel that in your bones.
Hi Kit, I agree. It is a bit of a primal feeling/sensation being near these kind of places.
It’s odd that you can feel it, but you can.
I think the feeling it part may be do to the cumulative sensations of sight, smell, perhaps taste (due to the smell) steam or heat on your skin etc. It really drives the experience home.
You are right! I look at my photos and feel like it’s only one aspect of my experience and lacks some of the power of being there in person.