Friday, November 20, 2009

The Hidden Revealed

















From Dr. Gary Greenberg's website-
"The secrets of nature are visible everywhere. Yet, they remain secrets until they are revealed. Dr. Gary Greenberg’s art takes us on an astonishing microscopic journey through the hidden wonders of nature. Using his special three-dimensional microscopes, Dr. Greenberg combines his zeal for art and science by creating dramatic landscapes of unseen worlds."

The picture is of grains of sand, magnified.

Astonishing isn't it?

When you are able to look closely, really closely, the world around us reveals itself in ways that are breathtaking.

When I was a teacher I purchased a set of jeweler's loupes for my classroom. The days when we used them were the most amazing of my teaching experience. The wonder at looking at shells, rocks, the back of their hands, a leaf magnified five times, one eye closed to block out the rest of the world, took them to magical places. Seeing details that were normally unavailable to the eye allowed them to be explorers of previously uncharted territory and their discoveries were shared excitedly.

Cries of "Look at this!" filled the room.

The crevices in their teacher's hand, looking like cracked desert earth.

The rivers of veins running through a leaf of a tree.

The craters in a rock, like the surface of the moon.

We are surrounded by hidden miracles everywhere, revealed to us only when we pay very close attention. Magnification allows us to pay close attention. And what miracles it reveals! But I use the magnified images as an analogy. We can give our attention over to the taste of a drink of orange juice, the feel of the bark of a tree on our fingertips, the details found in a snowflake resting on your hand. When all the rest of the world falls away, there are miracles to be found in a single breath, an embrace, a sunset, a flower.

Take a single breath, for example. Follow the breath as it is drawn in, as it swirls and fills; follow the wave of movement that ripples through the body. When we give it our full attention and notice the details and complexity, a single breath is completely new experience, just as the grains of sand are when magnified.

When we pay attention, we experience beauty and wonder all around. When we pay attention, we experience beauty and wonder within.

Wishing you balance,

Nancy


For more of Dr. Greenberg's photographs click here.


2 comments:

  1. Wonderful stuff! I'm spending my entire day today paying attention to everything I missed all week!

    ReplyDelete

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