Feeding the Imagination

Children are filled with imagination.  Their fresh, uncluttered minds easily slip into a make-believe world where anything is possible.  It is more of a struggle for most adults.

Unless your talents run to the creative, imagination can be something that is difficult to ignite.  Even for creative people it is often difficult to light the fires of creativity.  I put myself in the category of creative people, but I frequently sit in front of a blank page that gives no hint at what should fill it.  That is one of the reasons I use photographs in this blog -- that and the fact that people are more likely to be drawn to a picture than to words alone.

That creative bent is probably why I am drawn to science fiction and fantasy books and movies.  One of my favorites is "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien.  It is an adventure, a quest and a good-vs-evil tale that is one of my favorite reads but also was made into an excellent movie by Peter Jackson.  Too often, movie versions never meet the expectations set by the book.

The Hobbit tale continues in Tolkien's Trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings."  A creature that appears in those books is an Ent called Treebeard.  Ents were considered as tree herders who tended the forests of Middle Earth.  Although it looks nothing like the fictional character, one of our Sweet Gum trees which I trimmed earlier in the year reminds me of Ents every time I look at it.  You may have to use your imagination a bit, but I suspect you will spot the reason why.

 The Great Experiment

Today, on this 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, most of us celebrate.  We are not celebrating the founding of our country so much as we celebrate the freedom to self-government.  We celebrate a beginning which initiated the great journey which we continue today.

There are those who find reason to criticize during this time of celebration.  They focus on struggles that we have dealt with along the journey.  There are those who point to the Emancipation Proclamation as the true beginning for them.  Others point to Civil Rights Legislation of the 60's and 70's.  Many of them press a valid argument that for some, freedom did not come with the Declaration of Independence from England because there were those who were enslaved or treated as only partial citizens.  However, those steps which led to broader freedoms for those who were oppressed were part of the journey which makes this country great.

There are many steps yet to be taken.  Corruption has been a part of this Great Experiment from the very beginning.  No institution designed and implemented by mankind is perfect, and darkness is never far away.  Unlike many believe, pure democracy is not the answer.  Democracy leads to tyranny of the majority.  However, power should not be further concentrated in the hands of a few.

The next steps along the journey of this Great Experiment must be made from a unity of purpose, not the fragmentation of factions.  Power prefers fragmentation because they know that when like-minded people unite to oppose tyranny, miracles happen.  Let's all celebrate this 250th Anniversary of the miracle that we are privileged to enjoy.  (Photo of the Declaration of Independence copied from the National Archives.)

 Running a Bluff

I am a firm believer that "honesty is the best policy" but that seems to be a rare approach anymore.  We are constantly bombarded with stories of lies, deceit, and other examples of dishonesty.  Then there is all the propaganda which is more of the same.  It is somewhat disheartening.

Much of the deceit is to cover other dishonesty.  At other times it is a means of trickery aimed at acquiring wealth by taking advantage of the unwary or gullible.  There seems to be no end to telemarketing and text scams.

There are other times that deceit is used as a means of protection.  Fake security systems are sometimes thought to deter thieves.  Militaries often use deceit such as nets to cover weaponry, camouflage to hide or chaff to throw off a missile.  Like most things, deceit can be used for good or for bad.

Deceit is common in nature.  The large spots on a butterfly's wings are imitations of the eyes of a much larger creature.  They are meant to deceive predators.  Coloration designed to blend in with the surroundings is another means of protective deceit that is common to most animals, insects, birds and plants.

Yesterday we had a Tan Jumping Spider (Platycryptus undatus) watching us from the porch rail.  Normally they are found hidden under loose bark on trees.  I think the color patterns of their camouflage is spectacular.

 There Be Dragons

As one who enjoys Science Fiction and Fantasy, I have encountered many dragons in my reading.  Sometimes they are described as being friendly, but most are more like Smaug, the dragon in The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.  They are greedy, deceitful and extremely dangerous.

I think that describe some people as well -- many of whom become elected officials.

There is another type of dragon that sometimes finds its way into books.  It is the dragonfly.  I am especially reminded of the Ornithopters used on Arrakis (Dune) in the movie adaptation of the book Dune, written by Frank Herbert.   The propulsion system makes them appear like dragonflies with beating wings -- a little like a helicopter but with the rotors replaced by beating wings.  I can't imagine the difficulties of maintaining such a system -- especially in an extreme desert environment such as Arrakis.

I think dragonflies are among the most interesting of insects.  Although they are predatory, they don't bite or sting humans and their aerial maneuvers are impressive.  Read the Wikipedia entry here.  It is long but worth the effort.

In Old England they were considered evil, hence the name Dragonfly.  The word dragon is associated with the devil and fly as well, flying insect.  They are featured in many native American cultures such as the Navajo who linked them with pure water.  Recently, utilizing drone-like technology, flying optical transmitters have mimicked dragonflies.

Below is a photo of a Common Whitetail Dragonfly (Plathemis lydia), also known as a Long-tailed Skimmer which landed on our front porch for a rest yesterday evening.  Most of them I see have a solid white tail.

 Predicting the Future

We all want to know the future -- either with the expectation of making a fortune or so that we can prepare for what is coming.  It is the unknown that causes doubt and fear.

Some people have a knack for guessing trends and utilize that talent for great financial gain in business or in the stock market.  It is usually the result of study and understanding of the signs which surround us -- either in human behavior or natural events such as drought.  They see what is happening and accurately predict the implications for the future.

The seeds of the future are all around us.  Guessing which ones will sprout and which ones will wither and die is the key.  I wish I were better at it.

This is the time of year when many plants are producing the seeds for future crops.  Below is a photo of seeds on the Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) which grows on our place.  It is a monoecious plant which means both male and female reproductive organs reside on the same plant.  The single tree we have makes me want to predict that there will not be any little Bald Cypress coming up in the future despite all the seeds it currently bears.  I haven't seen any little ones running around anyway.

 Downtime

Everyone needs a break now and then.  We need a place of peace in which we can relax and think.  We need to allow ourselves the luxury of "being."

We have found our front porch to be a good place to just sit and relax.  A couple of rocking chairs and maybe a cool drink while we listen to the birds sing and look out toward the pond in the distance.  Sometimes there is conversation but often it is simply sitting, looking and listening to insects buzzing, birds singing and the occasional sound of a car or truck on the highway in the distance.

It's a good place to get your thoughts in order.  To make plans.  Or simply to rest the mind for a time.

We all need downtime.  Our brains need a chance to organize thoughts and our bodies a time to rest.

 Arbitrary Limits

We often limit ourselves through preconceptions.  We define goals toward which we aim yet often are capable of achieving greater.  Those preconceptions are frequently defined by others.

If a child is told that he is a failure he likely will be.  If a person is told they can never achieve greatness, they likely won't.  If one is taught that he must be subservient he most likely will remain that way throughout his life.

Being taught that mediocre is okay is safe.  It reduces the chance of devastating failure.  But it also limits achievement.

How do you teach that reaching for the stars is a worthy goal while also instilling an understanding that failure will happen and can be overcome?  Perhaps the key is to allow struggle to happen.  Encouragement and coaching through failure prepares one for higher achievement the next time around.  We learn more from failure than from success.  The problem is that failure is discouraging and causes reticence to try again.

Those failures can create arbitrary limits on what we attempt if we never establish the attitude and mindset that failure is only temporary.  We must learn from failure and consider it merely a step toward success.  That is when we remove the limits.

We have a couple of very old Crepe Myrtles on our place.  They each have multiple trunks rising together.  One of them is at least two feet in diameter.  They are over 30 feet tall.  Their height comes from age, but also from competing for sunlight since they are surrounded by even taller Oak, Hackberry and other trees which are even taller.  Their struggle for sunlight also causes them to bloom later than they would without that struggle.  They have reached heights rarely seen with their species.  Below is a photo of one of them against the backdrop of the taller trees.  It is just now starting to blossom.

 Into the Distance

Some mornings as I sit at my desk pondering various possibilities for my daily post, I find myself staring into the distance.  My mind roams across different subjects that seem relevant for the day.  I try to stay away from purely political or controversial themes although I frequently skirt the edges enough to allow for various interpretations.

I often bring up the idea of cyclicity.  It is a part of nature.  Some cycles are short and others are so long that we often don't realize they are cycles.

There are political cycles as well.  We have seen them throughout the history of this country and throughout the modern history of the world.  World War II saw the ultimate clash between competing political philosophies -- Marxism, Fascism, Capitalism, Social Democracy and Oligarchy.  What exploded in Europe was also going on in the United States but the balance between the competing philosophies was different.  The result was that the competing belief systems became entrenched in separate countries -- Marxism in Russia, Capitalism in the U.S., Social Democracy in Europe and various Fascist Dictators in small countries scattered throughout the world.

Those different political philosophies continue to compete to this day.  Each has spread into the domain of the others.  Each struggle for dominance.  At some point we may see an explosion similar to what engulfed Europe beginning in WWI and concluding in a state of equilibrium at the end of WWII.

The borders created at that time were sometimes arbitrarily drawn by the most powerful without regard to the feelings of those contained within.  Those borders have continued to be areas of conflict -- Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe.

Many people use a plant commonly called Monkey Grass (Liriope muscari) to create artificial borders in their lawns.  They are constantly having to pull grass and other invasive species from those plantings.  Below is a small sampling of Monkey Grass that remains on our place -- planted originally by a previous occupant.  It will likely get to stay.

 Conformity

This morning I have been watching a beautiful red Cardinal flitting around outside my window.  He has been on the porch, perched on a nearby tree limb, sat on the edge of the bird bath and now is simply hopping around in the grass looking for a meal.  He stands out from the various shades of green and brown that are the primary colors of this summer morning.

Most birds blend in with their surroundings.  They are various shades of gray, black, brown and yellow with sometimes muted reds and blues mixed in.  Their coloration helps them to blend into the canopy of the trees they inhabit.  They want to hide rather than to stand out.  Over the years of their evolution into unique species, they have conformed to their environment.  They blend in.

Most people are that way.  They try to blend in.  They choose behavior that doesn't make them stand out as a target yet one of the strongest human needs is for recognition.  Fear drives us to blend in while the need for recognition pushes us to do things which bring us to the attention of others.  Sometimes that need for recognition can be self-destructive.  The attention is gained through destructive behavior.

If we could all just learn to be who and what we were designed to be I think we would all be better off.  Conformity suppresses creativity and hides talents and gifts that could make valuable contributions.  Being true to self will allow our strengths to shine and garner the recognition that each and every person craves without resorting to destructive behaviors.

I'm certainly no psychologist -- just an observer of human nature.  I also love to observe closely the natural world around me.  Yesterday while doing some cleanup around the entrance to our property, I found a wild Turk's Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus) growing in a shaded area.  It certainly doesn't conform to what we generally view as summer flowers.  Its bloom is unique, it likes shade and the color is vibrant.

 Stubbornness

I've always had a bit of a stubborn streak.  If it is something I don't want to do, I find ways to resist.  I do it subconsciously.  It isn't as though I intend to be recalcitrant, but it happens.

I like that word, recalcitrant.  According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary it means obstinately defiant of authority or restraint, stubbornly uncooperative or disobedient, difficult to manage or operate.  I could probably name a few people who would agree that it describes me -- at least part of the time.

Obstinate is another one of those words that I like.  Again, according to Merriam Webster it means stubbornly holding to an opinion, purpose, or course in spite of reason, arguments or persuasion.  I like to call it "stick-to-it-iveness."  If you know you're right, you know it.  But I've been wrong before.  I like to joke that I was wrong once -- it was when I thought I was wrong but wasn't really.

We all have a stubborn streak in us.  Sometimes we aren't aware of the things about which we are stubborn.  I try to keep an open mind but occasionally, despite overwhelming opposition to what it is that I think, I know that I am correct.

Probably a better trait is to be tenacious.  Merriam Webster defines it as aggressively persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired.  It's actually very closely related to stubbornness or obstinance.  All are about sticking with it.  Holding fast.  It's the subtle differences that make all the difference.

Perhaps a little stubbornness is a good thing.  The key is to make sure it is directed constructively and not obdurately.  Now that's another good word.  It means stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing.

The photo below is of one of our neighbor's donkeys.  The donkey has long been symbolic of stubbornness.   It is also used symbolically in other ways which might better be described as obdurate.