Pages

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

To See The World In a Grain of Sand

Earlier today some sparkly pavement outside of an office building caught my eye. For some reason, in front of this professional business establishment, someone thought it would be nice to embed a very glittery, light-reflective substance into the pavement.  I paused and enjoyed the way it looked from different angles as the light of the sun struck it.


As I walked into the building and toward the elevators, still thinking about what I had just seen, I was reminded of sand. In the warm summer sun, a beach's sand often looks like a billion little sparkles.  I have felt sand under my feet and between my toes. I have held it. As a child, I built castles with it. Until today,though, I had only seen it with my bare eyes, and with the exception of some differences in texture and color, it all pretty much looked the same to me. But today, I came upon this: 


Gary Greenberg, Ph.D. of the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy in Maui captures sand at a magnification of 250x. In doing this, he has brought us an up-close and amazing look at how each and every grain of sand on the planet is a unique masterpiece. Like snowflakes, he says, no two grains are exactly the same.

Sand at 250x magnification
© Dr. Gary Greenberg/SWNS

Sand. Isn't it just amazing? 


Sand at 250x magnification
© Dr. Gary Greenberg/SWNS


Sand at 250x magnification
© Dr. Gary Greenberg/SWNS




We live on a beautiful planet whose mysteries continue to be revealed to us. We are the first generation of human beings to have the technology capable of seeing a grain of sand for what it really is. Imagine what else we will discover as time goes on. 


Think about something that you enjoy on a superficial level. By superficial, I don't mean materialistic, but "basic."   Maybe it's stars. Aromatherapy oils. Antique furniture. 


Take a little bit of time to learn something new about your interest. You may be surprised at what you find, and you may even notice that your life is further enriched. 


"To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour." - William Blake 




Namaste.

4 comments:

  1. Those are pictures of sand particles !!?? . To think I grew up 1 mile from a beach ad never realized . Yes they sparkle beautifully but wow..as always thank you sharing, so inspired to do something similar . We get so caught up in the quest for survival ,tend to stop and enjoy Life !!thank you for the reminder :):) Your writing is inspirational !!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you SO much for your kind words, Pria. Much love to you. ♥

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is beautiful! Who knew!! Live ya Deb. I am gkad I read this! XO

    ReplyDelete
  4. Not only was that beautifully written as always, but it was my favorite of all your blogs. It really made me think about how much we dont see that is right before us..and how what we think we do see isnt always as it appears. That was thought provoking and beautiful. Thank you for posting it and sharing it. I cant wait to read more of your blogs. I love them :)

    ReplyDelete

I look forward to reading your comments. Thank you for taking the time to leave one! ♥

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.