This metal structure seems rigid, solid and firmly set in place, yet also evokes a sense of motion by its sweeping, spiraling form. The flowing arc suggests a transit, taking the eyes on a gracefully curving journey of some distance -- even as it is clear that the scene is inert.
Therein lies the mirage, which permeates our consciousness.
For, thanks to the occasion of gravity's victory over centrifugal force, those of you reading this entry presume yourselves to be sitting (or standing) firmly in place, relatively motionless in space, on terra firma. Au contraire. In fact, each and every second we are all far removed from where we only just were.
Consider the case: days are measured as 24-hour increments -- simply because the sphere upon which we plant our feet rotates on its axis in roughly that time (to be exact: 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4.09053 seconds). Earth's circumference is approximately 24,000 miles at the equator; as 24 hours are required to make each revolution in reality our planet's surface is turning at a rate of some 1,000 miles per hour. (The farther one is from latitude zero the smaller this speed is, but I'll let you mull that over without further comment.) Ergo, with every passing sixty minutes we all have unwittingly taken a 24,000 mile trip.
That's just the preamble, however. The Earth's 365-day parade around the Sun covers a distance of 292,000,000 miles (give or take a few) . . . consequently our spinning mobile home carries us along at a brisk clip of about 18 1/2 miles every second of every day of our lives (that's 67,000 mph). And yet: that's not the half of it. Sitting near the outer edges of the galaxy we call the Milky Way, our entire Solar System is itself rotating at a 155 miles/second, even as each second the Milky Way itself hurtles through the universe (towards Leo in the night sky) some 185 miles.
Thus the profound nature of impermanence: from the instant of birth until our expiration, normally quite removed from our immediate perceptions, we're in a state of perpetual velocity across the universe, such that each Present Moment is literally far removed from all others. (A moment's reflection on this reveals just how fruitless 'geographics" are -- before we even pack we're no longer in the place we're trying to escape!)
Spiral, #8218
© 2010 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.
(click image for larger version)
Details: May 23, 2010; Canon 20D; f/2.8 @ 1/60 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 200; 100mm.
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Great Shot!!
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