just a few beautiful living things

Cheetahs:

Their efficiency makes me gasp. They are one of the most intimidating animals to me…they are incredibly impressive, with terrifying speed. But they are gorgeous.

Bonobos:

I had a hard time deciding which picture to include, because there are so many pictures out there where bonobos look eerily human. For years they were known as pygmy chimpanzees, but they are actually quite different. To me, they look more like humans. The females have breasts similar to ours. They walk upright more frequently. But their society is almost devoid of violence; instead of conflict and physical violence, they substitute sex. It’s very interesting how animals, primates in particular, can show us simplified variations of our own society.

Trees:

I could not find a picture that adequately expresses my love of trees. They are breathtaking, but a photo just cannot show the way the sun shines through the leaves, the way the wind blows through the leaves. Trees glitter! And their vascular systems are incredible: sucking water from deep within the earth to the top of the tallest redwood. I love the fact that we only are seeing half the tree; the root systems underground are just as majestic. As humans, we think of ourselves as the most successful, important, etc. etc., but trees were here long before us, and will likely be here long after us.

Dolphins:I think dolphins are even more intelligent than we have projected. What if they are just as intelligent as us, but without opposable thumbs, cannot demonstrate this in a way we understand?

Gawd?

Religious, atheistic, agnostic. To be honest, I do not like any of these words. I think religious beliefs (or lack thereof) are such a personal, private thing. I’ve always figured I was an atheist/agnostic, but having a label like that really bothers me, because it sometimes seems like a religion…which defeats the purpose. And I’ve noticed lately the atheistic community can sometimes be as frustrating as the religious communities, trying to convert people. I think people should believe what ever they would like to, as long as it does not harm or even affect others. I don’t feel my beliefs can or should be explained with just a word.

I think that all the religions in the world today were created by people. Not by any superhuman being or “god”. Therefore they (and God(s)) are pure fiction, that people choose to have faith in because it makes them feel safer, better, more “good”, or because they are scared not to believe. Anthropologically speaking, the definition of religion is answering the “why?” questions we as curious humans have pondered. And to answer these questions, I turn to logic and facts. Does that make my religion science?

I do not believe in God in the sense of any existing religion. That makes me, technically, an atheist. But I also acknowledge that it is impossible to determine what exists and what does not. So then I become agnostic. It’s hard to determine what exactly I am, but I don’t care about the label. Science itself admits that it cannot ever be fully explained. Theories are only fact until someone disproves them. That’s one thing I love about science: it admits that it makes mistakes! It is not always correct, and allows change as new discoveries are made. Unlike religion, which strives for rigidity even when times change, science is not afraid to adapt. I base my beliefs on truth, not faith.

Candy

1)

The above is a SCULPTURE by Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini. Post renaissance sculptor. I believe he sculpted the above at age 23. Amazing.

2) Coincidence: I have been thinking a lot about the things in my life and how much of it depends on chance. I have met some of my very best friends by a simple chance encounter–same place, same time. What if I was a few seconds late? Would someone else have entered my life instead, or would I have continued on as I do? There are so many people out there that I do not yet know, but they could be some of my best friends if I could only meet them. Who am I missing out on?

3) Beauty: When people ask: is he/she attractive/hot/pretty/cute/etc, it’s hard for me to respond. You know what they say, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”…well the fact of the matter is, everyone is beautiful. It just depends how shallow you are! I can see people as aesthetically pleasing, but it’s difficult for me to interpret attraction.

4) Lyrics:

“let it be printed on every t-shirt in this land/on the finest of cottons and the hippest of brands” Andrew Bird

“Big bottom,/Drive me out of my mind./How can I leave this behind?” Spinal Tap. hahah

“Steven A. Douglas was a great debater/But Abraham Lincoln was the great emancipator” Sufjan Stevens

“Every minute I go takes the smell of your clothes further away/’Cause you’ve gone away/Where there isn’t a telephone wire” My Brightest Diamond

“this is how it works/you peer inside yourself/you take the things you like/and try to love the things you took/and then you take that love you made/and stick it into some–/someone else’s heart/pumping someone else’s blood/and walking arm in arm/you hope it don’t get harmed/but even if it does/you’ll just do it all again” Regina Spektor
Please enjoy the loveliness.

‘Til next time–