by Peter Richardson

Infinity

Imagine that you are sitting down with your hands cupped together and you are holding the whole of the universe. You have the ability to see all in minute detail. You look through the different galaxies and find our solar system. You are able to look infinitely deep so you continue to zoom down to earth and finally to the place where you are. You see yourself holding the whole of the universe in the palm of your hands.

The above reminds me of the Mandelbrot fractal where you see the familiar pattern and zoom in only to eventually find another Mandelbrot among all the swirls and twists. Realizing that it goes infinitely in both directions, small and large becomes totally irrelevant, or rather, totally relative. Each of us contains the whole of creation within ourselves. This is the infinite fractal nature of life and god...no beginning, no end.

We are Raindrops

We come from a large amorphous cloud of moisture. At certain times and under certain conditions, the cloud begins to condense, creating small droplets of water. They grow until they have enough mass to begin their journey down to earth. Once a formless mist, these individual raindrops live their short life only to shatter into a million pieces and enter back into the life cycle of a cloud.

Mother Earth

When I think of the earth I look at my own body and marvel at how harmonious it truly is. With all of its rhythms and symbioses, thousands and millions of processes all working together in a coordinated melody. It is truly a perfect vehicle for the divine energy that it carries. And as I look at my own body, I imagine all manner of little creatures walking around on my skin, as the animals do the earth and as the bacteria do on me.

Then I imagine one of these races of little creatures beginning to cut down the hairs on my arm and begin to build structures. They bore deep into my skin down into the veins, and tap into my blood system. These structures now concentrate pollutants that seep into the tissues and spread throughout my whole body. These creatures find ways to travel all around and move across my body like a rash. I love them despite their ignorance and arrogance.

They are my children. I watch to see where it is all going but the unconsciousness only grows. They have sought to control and manipulate the very processes and functions of my body in order to suit their own needs. They block veins and reroute them into other more convenient vessels. They attempt to change my breathing so that it doesn't disrupt their building structures. They cause large radioactive explosions deep into my skin. They harvest and kill the other creatures in mass quantity, wasting much of it along the way. All but a few are totally unaware that I patiently watch their activities.

I begin to speak to them, telling them of their ways. But most cannot hear in the endless cacophony of noise that they create. I begin to speak louder but they still cannot hear. They are too blind and cannot see that they are killing themselves. As my body gets weaker and weaker I have no choice but to heal myself. Not wishing to hurt my children, I give them a choice: Look at what you are doing and change your ways or die by your own unconsciousness. You choose. I'll love you either way but it's time to heal my body so that all of its inhabitants may live in harmony once again.

© Peter Richardson 2002