islandprotista

Secrets are strange phenomena…they hold you as much as you hold them. What you can’t tell, you can’t share, and thus the complexity builds. Secrets are like islands in many ways…disconnected from other matters…singularities, one might say. So, let the breezes blow, the sea rise, and the sunlight shine. Build the bridges and run the ferries! Alluding to the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, when he said “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time”…most of all you cannot fool yourself, even part of the time.

Facing a strong headwind I cycle round Block Island chasing ciliates and dodging dragonflies, pond after pond, racing to make the return ferry. Nearing the bluffs, at the next to last location on my sampling map, I take a moment to reflect on the pure joy of riding a bike on a quiet island, serenaded by early Fall warblers under the bluest of Rhode Island skies. It is at these moments that I know why I love being a field ecologist. In a strange way, the isolation of an island after tourist season creates the illusion that you are indeed one with the water, the earth, the sky, and the other beings that leave hints of their presence around you. And it may be that we could find that connection anywhere, any time…some days it happens.

Pond #1

Islands conjure up images of navigational challenges…obstacles to avoid and channels to follow. Greek mythology, probably aligned with the country’s geology and geography, was replete with these visualizations. Yet, the joy of exploring islands not yet mapped, finding new sights and vistas, somehow escapes us. Perhaps this is a metaphor for the personal journey as well…we are so entranced by the obstacles and the avoidance that we miss the joy of the moment.

The thing I like best about islands is that you can find the edge, and if you keep walking on the edge, you get back to where you started.