Becoming the Drop of Water
It was eight-thirty in the morning as I walked to class, at WSU,underneath gray, darkening overcast skies with burgeoning clouds that were stuffed with water. I noticed through so many days, that there were a lot of student's at the university, that were jogging down a winding, black-topped path. The path led the mostly, youngish student's, through towering, green, colossal trees.
Being a jogger, a lover of the outdoors, and of nature, I became quite curious of where the path led. Within that same week, I decided to bring my jogg clothing, and a good pair of blue Nike's, and go exploring. I started down the long, and winding black-topped path, that had, after the curves, turned into a dirt path. The path led into the trees, and I followed it. I wondered what may lay beyond the path, and to my delight, I discovered something. I slowed down, and walked across a well-made bridge that had a good-sized creek beneath it, and it was full of water. The noise the water made was loud, like shouting, and it was rushing over algae covered rocks, as if it had its own mission. The mission being, to return to an even larger body of water. The gushing water was bringing with it an overabundance of the nutrients, and minerals, that was the result all of the decomposed leaves, sticks, and other various foliage, that had been offered up to it. I stopped, and looked at all of this simultaneously happening, and thought about all of the beauty, and majesty, that nature had bequeathed into the world. Almost, as if the entire Earth, was in and of itself, one giant living organism. Breathing in, while making oxygen, and exhaling as it made carbon dioxide. With all of the plants, animals, and people being the living force that sustains the entirety of the Earth, and giving it its life. After all of this thought provoking wonder, I continued on my journey, until I came upon the next amazing site.
Hidden on the path, in the forest, was a mystery. It is a marvel of things past, and certainly, of things yet to come. It was built and engineered from the constructs of earthly thing's, and of times inescapable reality. It is a reminder, a warning, a safeguard, for future generations.
The thing that I had discovered was truly, quite astounding. It was made of wood, rope, and bronze, and stood in the the forest, with it's nettle covered path. It was rightly named, the Wailing Bell, and as it turned out, it was an homage dedicated to the environment, and all of the species, both plant and animal, that was and is, entrusted to humans.
The Wailing Bell, as it turned out, was constructed by an artist bearing the name of Wayne Chabre. Wayne Chabre, as it turns out, has created a lot of architectural sculptures. As I looked at this bell, I noticed an inscription, carved into it, which read: "The Extinction of a species, each one a pilgrim of four billion years of evolution, is an irreversible loss. The ending of the lines of so many creatures with whom we have traveled this far is an occasion for profound sorrow and grief. Death can be accepted and to some degree transformed, but the loss of lineages and all their future young is not something to accept." Practice of the Wild.' The engraved message was from an essay in a book, written by the author, Gary Snyder.
On the backside of the massive, bronze bell, is another message, that states, "Change is required of us, a healing of the betrayed trust between humans and earth. Caretaking is the utmost spiritual and physical responsibility of our time, and perhaps that stewardship is finally our place in the web of life our work, the solution to the mystery of what we are. There are already so many holes in the universe that will never again be filled, and each of them forces us to question why we permitted such loss, such tearing away at the fabric of life, and how we will live with our planet in the future. Dwellings"
The statement was composed by the author, and Pulitzer Prize Winner, Linda Hogan. As I thought about this bell, and the messages that was scratched deeply into the bronze, that had turned green, as it had oxidized, just as, The Statue of Liberty had. The bell made me think about the wonderment of life, and how long it has taken everything in the world to evolve into this present state that we are now in. I thought about this bell that was so carefully constructed out of a yew tree, rope, bronze, and steel, and what it all meant. I wondered how everything in the world had become so out of control, that people needed the bell as a token of warning, and remembrance.
I needed to fully understand the significance of what the bell represented. What was the meaning of the inscriptions, and how was it relevant. I talked with some people, about extinctions, and was told that, 'it didn't really matter, because animals have always become extinct, it's just life.'
I was completely dumbfounded. As if hearing this was an acceptable answer, one that didn't put a second thought to the matter. But, it did matter. Obviously this sculpture meant so much that the university had spent a lot of money on it. The sculpter, Wayne Chabre had taken the time to design it, and it was completed with care, and with great thought. There was truly a lot more to this sculpture. Even the name of the sculpture holds significance. When one wails, it usually means a great loss has occured, it is, in essence a sign that is full of sorrow. When bells are rung, they usually carry a message. In this particular case it seems to carry the message of, 'wake up, the Earth and all of its inhabitants need help.'
For a deeper understanding of the message, I wanted to understand what exactly was going on, and how far has the degredation of the Earth become. I wondered, 'did we allow ourselves to sink into a rut?' I decided to research further into what was going on in the present state, with the extinction of the Earths plants, animals, and possibly the humans as well. What I found out, is mainly documented research. It seems like a downer of a subject, but I want to believe...that there is still time to turn the tables.