I went to
Linda's lecture on Tuesday (
http://artsci.ucla.edu/node/1316). When I heard the idea that human could be closer to nature, or even get into it, I responded sympathetically. Sometimes I feel that I am closer to trees, flowers and wild animals than to humans. I always want to stop by and observe things around me. But I am too busy, or I do not want others to think I am weird. But when Linda talked gently and softly about her ideas, I felt that I gained confidence to care for the nature and myself. Moreover, what I want is not just observation. I also want to touch it, feel it, understand it from my heart.
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| A Selfie at the Lecture |
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| "one that can be inhabited and not just viewed?" |
Here comes the opportunity. I went to the
workshop held on Thursday, which largely satisfied my desire to feel the nature (
http://artsci.ucla.edu/node/1317). It was my first time getting so close to the honeycomb and seeing its hexagon structure, which reminded me the connection between math and art. Hexagon looks delicate to us, and we know that this structure is efficient for bees. But hexagon is rarely applied in human architectures. People like to use right angles. Why? I never thought about this question before the workshop. Is it because rectangle is easier to calculate than hexagon? Is it due to our habitual thinking? We are limited, and will be more and more limited by our routine life. From nature, we can explore more outside of ourselves and our civilization.
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The Hexagon Structure of Honeycomb - Observe
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I also tasted the natural syrup. It was amazing, different from all the syrup I had tasted before. It was not so sweet, but rich, strong and thick. There are many flavors that I could not tell, or maybe I just never tasted them before. I sensed the whole forest when I gave my first lick.
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Maple from the Nature - Taste
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There were also many chances for us to touch, both by hands and by feet. We were asked to use our hands to help a rotten trunk to become dust. I never thought a trunk can be so soft. This procedure was very soothing for me as well. Touching, feeling, leaving all my worries behind.
My favorite part of the workshop is that I got a chance to walk on the ground, which imitated the ground of a forest, with my bare feet. Again, this was something that I had always imagined but never dare or had had an opportunity to do. The part of writing our feelings down after observation, touch, smell and taste really helped. By describing our sensations, we were able to translate them into something less abstract and more concrete. Thus we could learn about both ourselves and the nature better.
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Rotten Trunk - Touch
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I always love topics related to nature, and the workshop really impressed me. I appreciate Linda so much since she offered me such a memorable experience. I believe that I love nature even more now, and I will try to promote my understanding of it by letting nature play role in my life, and letting myself take part in nature, instead of just viewing it as an outsider.
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| A Nice Photo Taken at the Work Shop |
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