Consulting the creek again

 I take Harvey’s famous saying “All we know is still infinitely less than what remains unknown” as the first law of the cosmos.

Instead of learning about the entire cosmos, I set myself to learn about a piece of public land along Zarzamora Creek about a mile from our house.

Earlier in life, I began to keep a journal. It was based on the notion — a whim, a sliver of imagination — that if I paid attention, the cosmos would give me (or share with me) a little gift. Note the big if. If I paid attention, if I noticed, I would see that something remarkable, perhaps something wonderful, had indeed crossed my path that day. So, like William Carlos Williams, I had a standing heading in my notebook: “Things I noticed today that I had not previously noticed.” It was about paying attention.

Learning takes time. But, after looking at the creek for five years, Harvey’s rule still applies. What I know about it is infinitely less than what I would like to know.