Just the pure physical joy of thrashing your arms around in water. To fill the kid’s buckets and throw it at the sun—the way the water falls apart into drops, and then into mist, the way a rainbow appears for a second and is gone.
one of my favorite, favorite things to do is just this - trying to forget about what i "know" about a familiar thing, then doing my best to pursue it through the lens of a visiting alien or a young child. it doesn't always work, but it's a practice that i insist can make us better humans. beautiful writing, thank you for sharing.
I love doing this as well. There is a specific one that I revisit whenever I start to find nature monotonous (how dare I).
I imagine that I could walk through a forest on a different planet where instead of green, everything that photosynthesizes is purple. I imagine how breathtaking it would be to be surrounded by infinite shades of purple growing in all shapes and sizes.
And then I remind myself that that's basically what I have now. Green is a top-notch, vibrant, interesting color. The people on planet purple would be blown away by a bright green forest.
I can feel the water and the current and the sand, and taste the salt (I was in the Atlantic off North Carolina two days ago). I can not describe the joy and peace this recreates in my soul. Thank you.
Yes! I try to do that to get out of my head—just admire a piece of ice for five minutes, or inspect the face of a snail. There is such a fractal of detail, and joy, and beauty, to the world.
“It is said by the Eldar that in water there lives yet the echo of the Music of the Ainur more than in any substance that is in this Earth; and many of the Children of Ilúvatar hearken still unsated to the voices of the Sea, and yet know not for what they listen.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion
Another roundabout way of saying that water is the most beautiful thing in the world.
Amazing imagery of a world without water. Last time I went to MOMA a guard yelled at me for touching something that seemed very tactile, so I hope that’s not the case in your imaginary water exhibition 😂
The pandemic bubbles of cottage country excluded many of us singletons, and after giving away my car, I am dependent on the kindness of strangers for wilderness access.
one of my favorite, favorite things to do is just this - trying to forget about what i "know" about a familiar thing, then doing my best to pursue it through the lens of a visiting alien or a young child. it doesn't always work, but it's a practice that i insist can make us better humans. beautiful writing, thank you for sharing.
Francis Ponge did a lot of that in his prose poems. This one about rain is great: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/89711/rain-5762f2f9a12fd
i'm losing my mind over how good this poem is. thank you for the introduction, dear Henrik!
I love doing this as well. There is a specific one that I revisit whenever I start to find nature monotonous (how dare I).
I imagine that I could walk through a forest on a different planet where instead of green, everything that photosynthesizes is purple. I imagine how breathtaking it would be to be surrounded by infinite shades of purple growing in all shapes and sizes.
And then I remind myself that that's basically what I have now. Green is a top-notch, vibrant, interesting color. The people on planet purple would be blown away by a bright green forest.
I can feel the water and the current and the sand, and taste the salt (I was in the Atlantic off North Carolina two days ago). I can not describe the joy and peace this recreates in my soul. Thank you.
It’s so beautiful to rediscover the world. Seeing how insane and amazing and mind-boggling something actually is, we’ve just gotten used to it.
Yes! I try to do that to get out of my head—just admire a piece of ice for five minutes, or inspect the face of a snail. There is such a fractal of detail, and joy, and beauty, to the world.
The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea. -Isak Dinesen
Wonderful.
“It is said by the Eldar that in water there lives yet the echo of the Music of the Ainur more than in any substance that is in this Earth; and many of the Children of Ilúvatar hearken still unsated to the voices of the Sea, and yet know not for what they listen.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion
Another roundabout way of saying that water is the most beautiful thing in the world.
Dear Henrik,
Your ode to water is Divine.
Thank you for sharing it with us.
With deep gratitude,
Amazing imagery of a world without water. Last time I went to MOMA a guard yelled at me for touching something that seemed very tactile, so I hope that’s not the case in your imaginary water exhibition 😂
Six years without a wild swim. 😔
That is too long
The pandemic bubbles of cottage country excluded many of us singletons, and after giving away my car, I am dependent on the kindness of strangers for wilderness access.
sweet