Perspective

Within days, all of this trees leaves will have fallen

   The temperature this morning was 29 F; not really that cold but a signal that the days of cold fronts arriving and leaving and the days springing back to warmer temps are probably gone.  Winter is near...tomorrow morning is predicted to be 19 F.  The few trees that still show leaves are now far fewer in number and within days or with the next wind storm, they will likely give in.  Even the pine needles are shedding their old fluff and bracing for the coming months of steady cold.  One signal visible to me is that of the birds and the bees.  I leave my hummingbird feeders out (the hummers are long gone) for the bees who congregate in droves to catch the last bits of carbohydrates from the sugared water; same with the flowers who are valiantly making their seeds before succumbing to the temps.  Most of my neighbors have already trimmed their decorative grasses and yanked up their beds of flowers, leaving the birds few options for their seed gathering to sustain them (one of the recommendations in obtaining a Certified Wildlife Habitat marker from the National Wildlife Federation is: Leave flower heads and stalks: Birds feed on seeds and insects that dried flowers and stems provide).  The sight of a bird flying away from a dried flower's head is as captivating and as rare as that osprey snagging a fish from a pond.  And this got me thinking...what happens to all of those birds and animals as the seasons change?*

    Said a piece in National Wildlife: When fall food is plentiful, birds gorge to build up insulating fat, which also provides fuel to conserve body heat.  Some species switch to higher-fat diets in winter.  On sunny days, birds take advantage of solar radiation, turning their backs to the sun to allow their largest surface areas to soak up the rays.  Under clouds, they may shiver, which burns calories but increases body temperature...Birds’ feathers provide remarkable insulation, and many species grow an extra layer of down as part of a late-fall molt.  Feathers are aligned to create tiny air pockets, and their outer layer is coated with waterproofing oil produced by a gland at the tail’s base and distributed when a bird preens.  Last winter Audubon featured a cover story on feathers, their visual display as dazzling as the leaves of fall, much of it taken from the book by Robert Clark on feathers (worth taking a peek).  That particular issue began with this: When the world starts to look dark, it can help to pay close attention to the beauty around us.  

   I also happened to catch a few TED Talks the other night, one being of a black man who entered the world of the alt-right, all to try and discover why unknown trolls were so vitriolic to his online presence, all without knowing him.  The funny, courageous and insightful TED Talk is summed up with this brief description: In an unmissable talk about race and politics in America, Theo E.J. Wilson tells the story of becoming Lucius25, white supremacist lurker, and the unexpected compassion and surprising perspective he found from engaging with people he disagrees with.  He encourages us to let go of fear, embrace curiosity and have courageous conversations with people who think differently from us.  "Conversations stop violence, conversations start countries and build bridges," he says.  It's been viewed over a million times.  Some of my friends have viewpoints that are radically different from mine, in some case completely opposite from my view of the world.  From gun control to abortion to politics to health care, it would seem that our friendships would be unsustainable, at least if viewed by an outsider.  And yet, they are wonderful people and our discussions rarely escalate into the emotional world.  Each of us poke and probe and throw out small darts that we hope do little more than provoke a bit of revelation as to why we think the way we do.  As you might find in the talk above, it is only by having such conversations that you can see the other perspective, the other "comfort zone."

   The other TED Talk was of a total different nature but perhaps even more revealing.  Using today's satellite technology, artist Benjamin Grant pieces together another view of our planet from space, a view that changes and is posted daily.  Far different than the memorable blue marble photo of earth as seen from the moon, these are images of today's earth, from massive cattle feedlots to even larger images of deforestation and ever-growing refugee camps.  His presentation, despite the stunning but almost shocking images, is uplifting; as he says: I believe that viewing the Earth from the overview perspective is more important now than ever before...just as the astronauts of Apollo 8 watched the Earth rising above the lunar landscape for the first time, there is no way that you could have imagined what the places I just showed you look like from outer space.  And while you may enjoy the aesthetics of an image, once you learn exactly what it is you're seeing, you may struggle with the fact that you still like it.  And that's the tension I want to create with my work, because I believe it is that contemplation, that internal dialogue that will lead to greater interest in our planet and more awareness of what we're doing to it.

    Yesterday also had me completing the listening to a series of lectures on mathematics, mental math, to be specific.  It was fun and at times way out of my league, although I would come to realize that mental math is all over the map these days (there's even a site teaching mental math for 3rd graders).  Vedic division, complements, and distributive law were both easy and difficult to grasp; and there were the math shortcuts such as this one: The product of 11 and any 2-digit number begins and ends with the two digits of the multiplier; the number in the middle is the sum of the original two digits. Example: 23 × 11 -- 2 + 3 = 5; answer: 253.  For a multiplier whose digits sum to a number greater than 9, you have to carry.  Example: 85 × 11-- 8 + 5 = 13; carry the 1 from 13 to the 8; answer: 935.  Hmm, basic stuff to engineers and such but to the everyday person it would take practice.  Why?  Because mental math requires a different perspective...as just one example, Professor Arthur T. Benjamin says that we say numbers left to right (101 is read as one hundred and one), we write numbers left to right (same example), so why don't we add and subtract and multiply numbers the same way, left to right (a key component of mental math).  Once you hear examples of such methods --and how much easier it actually is-- you have to wonder if we've been taught math calculations in the wrong (or perhaps more difficult) way all these years.

   Whether listening to the "other" side or thinking of a basic method in a different way, sometimes it just takes our will to break out of our own comfort zone.  We don't have to agree or practice everything that we have heard or read; but maybe something as simple as just peeking out of our warm and safe cubbyholes will be enough.  There's an entirely different world out there, one that's always been there...we might just have to garner up the courage to step outside and view it.

*You can watch an interesting and beautiful TED Talk by Washington Wachira and his love for birds, summed up nicely with this: The feather is one of the most astonishing pieces of technology invented by the natural world, and for centuries, this feather has helped birds to keep dry, to keep warm and even power flight...Among all the world's animals, birds are the only ones who can make something like what I'm holding today.  I personally have given them a nickname, and I like to call them the feathermakers.  It is the major difference between birds and any other animals we have on earth, and if you can't make a feather, you cannot call yourself a bird...Don't you sometimes wish you could fly like a bird?