Notes on the Fragility of Life

Coming Into Being - Lynda Lehmann c 2010

Recent media coverage of the Gulf oil spill has been a reminder of the preciousness of life, now put in jeopardy by corporate greed. Let's not forget that the sea is the BASE of the

food chain

. Instead of a sparkling, vital and beautiful ocean bursting with

magnificent

life forms of unimaginable variety and scale, I'm afraid

we may have rendered much of it a lifeless, poisoned, toxic soup. And I'm afraid it may not recover for centuries. If ever...

And how far will the poison spread? Pollution has no boundaries, especially in the fluid dynamism of the sea.

All because our human societies do not promote rational limitations on what both governments and corporations can do. All because we look at the short-term gain instead of considering long term ramifications and a wider view of The Common Good... Because we've gone to the moon but haven't been able to legislate rational limits to the destructive forces unleashed by habits of Consumerism and its untidy extremes: greed and entitlement.

Looking at the tiny, emerging blossom in the photo above, I'm reminded of just how delicate the tender shoots of plants are, how delicate the physical manifestations of each species. All of life on Earth is comprised of delicate cells, tissues, membranes and organs. They are not made of plastic or clay. Each is made up of an orchestrated unfolding and cooperation of trillions of cells. In short, the chain is as strong as its weakest link. So it is with life systems. What the cell cannot withstand, is reflected by orders of magnitude in the health and longevity of the entire organism.

Consider your own cellular structure, protected on the outside by your "integument." Your skin is actually your largest organ. But consider as well, how easily damaged it is, by a burn or abrasion, or worse: caustic chemicals or radiation. So it is with the Earth, comprised of many life forms of wonderful and miraculous diversity. But each organism on our planet is vulnerable, and whole forms of life, which we call "species," have already become extinct. That means that in spite of the fact they they once flourished, they are now gone from the face of our planet forever!

So it is that when we damage whole ecosystems, we damage the integrity of Earth and all her inter-related species. Life is not to be taken for granted. It is not a given. It's made up of a statistically improbable, miraculously coinciding alliance of chemical and mechanical events that generate Life.

The creative force at the center of the universe may be powerful and enduring beyond our comprehension. But the species that populate our precious green planet, are not. And we are one of them.

As Chief Seattle said:

"

All things are bound together. All things connect......

Man does not weave this web of life. He is merely a strand of it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."

All images and text on this blog are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission by the author/artist, except where syndication rights have been granted. All other rights reserved.

The Sacred Energy of Wild Places

There is an energy at the core of Life, a sacred energy felt most apparently and keenly in those places we may refer to as "wild." For some of us, that place may truly be in a remote wilderness area. More likely it will be a place that is just a bit out of the way. But it seems to me that the place, whether near or far from the beaten track, will be a place that is as yet unexploited and unspoiled by the touch of man.

My husband and I discovered such a place about two weeks ago. One of our mini-excursions into the Maine countryside brought us unexpectedly to a wooded marshland. It was just a tad off of a main road that was not quite a highway, but a two-lane road well-traveled by local traffic.

We made a right turn on a street whose name I can't remember. What I do remember is that it was indeed, a "proper" town street-sign in white and green with a name bestowed on this road. But it was not in any sense your typical suburban or even country road.


I was stricken with my first view of the marsh. Forest encroached on all sides, rising above the area on gentle hills. The trees still retained some of their autumn splendor but were at least partly given over to the stark winter nakedness that makes their skeletons so much more gestural and poignant than their leafy summer counterparts.



I got out of the car and scanned the near distance. Woods, woods, and more woods, with a wetland in the middle that coalesced into a quiet stream that wound its way through the thicket.


At the side of the road, cattails abounded, rich in their brown fur and contrasting the more sparse occurrence of milkweed pod. Some of the pods were open to the skyward flurry of their gossamer white fuzz, while others remained closed and pregnant with the seed loads of future plants.



A huge beaver lodge graced the middle of the watery pool on the right side of the road, commanding the eye's attention, as would a mansion on the vast grounds of a manicured estate.


But this was no manicured estate. Although fairly close to the town of Norway in southwest Maine, it had all the trappings of a true wilderness. Bird calls of all ilks met my ears, like beacons of a distant time in the annals of Creation. The milkweed seeds, picked up by an intermittent breeze, sailed into the blue dome that reflected on the water below. Everywhere there was life. Thorns, red winter berries, the milkweed, swaths of emerald moss and the texture of the slightly churned water. Sweet pungent air, sparkling with sunlight. The auburn of spent foliage rimming the swamp.


I could almost hear our dear Mother Earth inviting me in her mysterious tongues to partake. She wanted me to embrace her, smell her, feel her caress, hear her song. She wanted to delight me. She wanted to pay homage to herself for her dignity, sustained in the face of ages of exploitation and consumption, by her own stubborn Being.

Years ago, I wrote a young adult novel (one of four, actually) about a teenage girl who has to leave the lowland plain between Brazil and Peru, to climb deep into the Andes. She had to undertake this journey because her tribe was dying out, and their only chance was for her to try to retrieve the ancient medical secrets of the Incas, from whom she had descended. The Boutiquin, the ancient medicine chest of the forest floor was dying out and only she, Liana, with the tenacity of the vine for which she was named, could make her way into the highland to fetch the ancient wisdom.

Along the way, repeatedly, she bent her head to the Earth and heard the Hum of Being.

In my writing, the "Hum of Being" was a contrivance to enhance the plot, an embellishment in my manuscript to bring home the feminist and earth stewardship themes of my book.

But last week, in that patch of wild made of forest and river and swamp, filled with sunshine and seeds and berries and birdsong, I heard the Hum of Being for myself. Have you ever heard it? What is your experience with finding yourself surrounded by the magic of a sacred place? For me, it is the among the very best and most inspiring of life experiences.

All photos and text copyright Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.

If you would like to view my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

The Omo People: A Haunting Spectacle of Harmony with Our Earth

We've all seen a number of You Tube videos. Some are mediocre and some are outstanding. In my mind, this one is unforgettable. I'm sure it will leave an indelible imprint on my consciousness.

It is at once a sermon and a promise, an homage and a litany. If you give yourself to it for a few minutes, I think you might agree with me.

The adornment and countenance of these people are haunting and beautiful. Their apparent relatedness to our Earth seems appropos to those whose lives unfold near The Great Rift. This video makes one ponder on the nature of beauty, wisdom, play, and inter-relatedness.

On the YouTube site, one of the comments was that these faces look sad. I agree, however, with another commenter who said these faces are full of awe and reverence. They are OF THE EARTH, and they KNOW it! They FEEL it in every fiber of their being, and express it constantly in their physical accoutrement.

Again, this video brings up the correlation between play, art-making, and BEING. These people have a deep connection to something that we, in what WE consider to be more "civilized" societies, can only grope for......

What do you think?

Reaching for the Solstice

We walked on a beach along Long Island Sound this past Sunday. The day was overcast, so the colors of the day stood out. I'll be posting "Beach Foundlings" from that day, man-made or altered objects found on the beach, and a variety of more natural beach images, in coming posts.

Today I'm sharing just this image of a hill facing over the shoreline and water. The woods were finally showing signs of color, emergent green and amber evident on slender veins of new growth. The air was soft and not too cold, and I was taken with this view of the fertile pre-spring arbor: ready to burst with life, replete with possibilities and energy of fresh growth and brushy splendor. So delicate, yet full of awesome power...

Life renews itself in Spring, and with the changing of the season, comes new hope.

My most fervent hope is for our survival on our magnificent green, blue, and amber planet.

Images and text c Lynda Lehmann. If you would like to view more of my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

Between Heaven and Earth

Between Heaven and Earth - Image c Lynda Lehmann

Between heaven and Earth the clouds form, to bring the rains that fill the rivers and foster life all over the planet. Not only that, but they make the sunny days that will inevitably follow, seem equally welcome and miraculous!

If you look closely at the left-hand side of the image, you can see some rain falling. And thankfully, the river on the right is still viable. Taken at 500 mph from the airplane on our recent trip to Arizona.

Image and text c Lynda Lehmann. If you would like to view more of my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

Visit "Catalog Choice" and Take Control of Your Mail!

Here's a simple and exciting opportunity to help the environment and rid your mailbox and house of unwanted catalog clutter at the same time!

Just sign up for the free service at http://www.catalogchoice.org/ and opt out of unwanted catalog delivery! My daughter brought this to my attention today and I thought it was something you would all want to know about. This service is free, and a whole lot easier to use than finding the right telephone number of the right department in your state government, to opt out of unwanted mail.

According to their site, "Catalog Choice is a sponsored project of the Ecology Center. It is endorsed by the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Defense Council, and funded by the Overbrook Foundation, the Merck Family Fund, and the Kendeda Fund."

Sounds good to me!

Dolphin Slaughter To Begin!

The Oceana Network has posted about the onset of this horrific slaughter and waste, and the danger it presents to people who eat the canned fish, so highly contaminated with mercury, as well as to the health and biodiversity of the ocean.


Read it here: http://community.oceana.org./ and take just two minutes to send a letter out in your name, protesting this destructive practice. We can all do our part! Let's help protect our oceans, all the species in them, and our own food chain!


The above image, "Blue, Turquoise, Blue," is available at www.lyndalehmann.com

Where There is Life, There is Hope

I just wanted to upload my photo "Galaxy" before I quit my computer for the day. I've been thinking a lot about global warming this past week, partly due to all the attention to the subject that's been circulating in the Blogosphere. I think that both people and nations are finally getting it, but there's so much work to be done. And it has to begin with us. If we don't find the political will to press for rational and effective legislation, we'll slide further into the horrors of climate change.

I have to comfort myself by telling myself this: While there is life, there is hope. If I can still find beauty on the beach or in the forest, there is hope. If I can see the universe in a cluster of beach pebbles, there is hope.

I wish each of you hope and resolve as you lay your head down tonight. May we all find enough beauty in our world to really cherish it. May we work collectively and as individuals to preserve our Earth.

Image and text c 2007 Lynda Lehmann. To see more of my art or purchase "Galaxy," please visit www.lyndalehmann.com .

Ethos, Corporolithic

Today is Blog Action Day, but I think we should be good Earth stewards every day, talking and writing about environmental issues to raise awareness about them. Of course we have to walk the walk, too, instead of just giving it lip service. That means educating ourselves and our families about sources of pollution, about toxins and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Not only are our air and water in jeopardy, but so is all of biodiversity. Biodiversity is the core of life, because in the grand scheme of the food chain, the threatening or extinction of one species effects all others.

Many of my blog posts have been about the Earth, and if you are familiar with my art, I think my love for our planet comes across. The same passion is in my writing, in poems, stories and several novels that are dear to my heart because of their meaning. I can't seem to write or paint or point my camera and shoot, without thinking of how the human condition impacts our planet. Mostly, I think, it's greed and selfishness that cause some people to behave as if the universe exists for their private gain. I feel sorry for those who don't feel connected to the universe, or a sense of oneness with Creation. Or however you want to say it.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I've posted this one, "Ethos, Corporolithic." I hope it will bring across the horror we would feel if the sky turned yellow-orange and became so murky with sulfurous-looking clouds that the color of sea and lake water would change. How would we feel if emerald green forests became only a mass of tangled, dried and shriveled skeletons of once-lush plant life? Or if world-wide wars were fought for water and not just for fuel oil?

I'm very concerned about reducing our carbon footprint as well as protecting species and safeguarding the public health. I have the links to some reputable environmental groups posted in my sidebar, if you're interested. They make it easy to get informed on ongoing and emerging environmental concerns, and to make your voice heard.

I read Al Gore's book, EARTH IN THE BALANCE, over 20 years ago, and to this day, believe his premise and most of how it's presented. We are in trouble and should not be fooled by our perceived power (technological or intellectual) or affluence. And we should not entirely blame governments or corporations, although a runaway profit motive seems to have vanquished morality and a healthy concern for the common good. We each have a role to play. Let's leave something of life as we know it, for our children and grandchildren. Anyone who by his or her actions plunders the Earth, steals from us all.

Image and text c Lynda Lehmann

Flame of Life

Life is not guaranteed. Scientists agree that the conditions necessary for life to occur and be nurtured and sustained on this planet are not only unlikely, but exist within such a narrow range as to be almost inconceivable. It's highly unlikely that they have occurred by chance. For so many intricate systems to balance in the way they do, is highly improbable and seems to the pondering human mind, to be virtually impossible.

If these conditions occurred by the hand of a Greater Power, they remain an equally improbable and delicate combination. For instance, if the ratio of just one element in our universe, carbon, for instance, were off only by a few degrees from where it is, life as we know it could not occur.

Whether by chance or by the hand of a benevolent Creator, or by combination of both, we cannot afford to skew or destroy the balance that makes our green, lush and gorgeous planet a haven of life for millions of species. Including us...

Personally, I hope to be part of the solution more than part of the problem. Each of us has many options for being a better earth steward. Imagine what our planet would be like if we continue to destroy land, air, water, and species. Picture a cold, stale, rocky mass, devoid of color and life. No breathable oxygen, no drinkable water, no food, no flowers, no children...

Let's speak out against the abuse of our planet. Let's get together to move our governments toward global solutions for global warming and irreversible pollution, before it's too late! Let's protect the flame of life.

"Flame of Life" is available at www.LyndaLehmann.com , or you can buy it framed at Imagekind. Text and image c Lynda Lehmann.

Primal Spirit

Done by manipulation of an original photograph in Photoshop, using a variety of filters. This image reminds me of both primal earth process and primal emotion. We tend to forget sometimes that we are organic beings, closely tied to our planet by our biology. If our Earth suffers, is under assault by myriad destructive forces, than so are we. I think things may be reaching critical mass, and we try to hide from the truth by our material pursuits, our passions, and our ideologies. Wouldn't it be better for all of us to participate in democracy, find our political will and make our voices heard, than passively watch the world slide into environmental crisis?

I recommend the following organizations for reliable information on environmental issues:

Union of Concerned Scientists http://www.ucsusa.org/
Natural Resources Defense Council http://www.nrdc.org/
Stop Global Warming http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/

I have been familiar with the Union of Concerned Scientists and the NRDC for more than 20 years, and I find both groups to be very reliable sources of information. Even the federal government consults with the NRDC for information.

"Primal Spirit" is available at http://www.lyndalehmann.com/ as an archival print on canvas, 11 x 14 inches. Please feel free to ask about other sizes.

Text and image c Lynda Lehmann.