The basalt columns on Reynisfjara beach in southern Iceland have stood there for at least a few thousand years. A black sand beach has put the towering hexagons within easy reach for as long as anyone can remember. But in a flash, or rather a winter storm, the columns, a product of an ancient volcanic eruption, are now out at sea, the beach cleared away.
As we look at the landscape, it’s easy for us to assume it’s always been there. And always will be. But that’s the result of our limited perception. A major landscape change, like a volcanic eruption is a rare event. Over the past 100 years, more than 99 percent of the world’s active volcanoes remained substantially the same. Things that are ultimately impermanent seem permanent.
The sameness leads to complacency. There’s no need to take time to appreciate something today since it will be there tomorrow. But it might not be.
It’s not just the land. Everything is subject to change. Wildlife populations grow and shrink, and shift locations based on available food. Tides rise and fall a couple of times each day. Even if you were to average the sea level out over an entire year, it’s gradually climbing as ice caps turn into ocean water.
That’s why it’s worth taking a few minutes from time to time to appreciate the world around us. Each moment is a unique moment in time. At first glance it may appear exactly like the one before, but that’s because we’re not looking close enough. The moments that pass may be gone for good.
This is the message behind my latest exhibit, which is titled Seeing Slowly. It will be on view at Gallery Belltown in Seattle until April 23. Contact me for a private viewing.
(Kevin’s book, Five Minutes in Nature, collects images and stories about his experiences in the wilderness, curated to help you have deeper encounters of your own. Preview and order it here. Prints of his images are available through LivingWilderness.com. Learn about new work by joining his mailing list.)
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