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Tubbs Fire Reflections

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My heart leaps up when I behold

A rainbow in the sky:

So was it when my life began;

So is it now I am a man;

So be it when I shall grow old,

Or let me die!

The Child is father of the Man;

And I could wish my days to be

Bound each to each by natural piety.

– William Wordsworth

Laurie Shields (Biodesign ’80) sent this photo of a beautiful rainbow that seemed to be welcoming Calistoga residents back from their mandatory evacuation. Normally I am a big fan of rainbows, however, this one has me in a quandary. Was this a sign from God, a simple capricious act of Mother Nature or was there some other hidden meaning? It must have been a wonderful sight for Calistogans whose homes were spared, but little solace to the 1000s of people who have lost their homes, jobs and been displaced by the horrendous Tubbs Fire. Interestingly, Galileo kind of helped me out of my dilemma:

“Nature is inexorable and immutable and does not care one jot whether her secret reasons and modes of operation be above or below the capacity of man’s understanding.”

In other words, as horrifying as it might be, man is not exempt from the powerful forces of nature such as hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods and fires. Therefore, I guess this means that we have to take the rainbow for what it is; a mysterious sign of beauty, hope and wonder in the midst of all the horror.

However, it dawned on me that humans are capable of creating invisible rainbows, connecting with each other.

Paraphrasing “Mr. Rogers;” when disasters occur, “look for the helpers” and you will see man at his finest. https://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/scarynews.asp

Our eldest daughter was recently at a north Santa Rosa grocery store that escaped the fire. A fire crew had just arrived for a generously offered free lunch. Through the soot, sweat-stains, grit and grime she recognized the familiar face of the husband of one of her teaching colleagues. He was absolutely exhausted and said that he was coming off a 100-hour shift. It began with 48 hours straight because replacement crews had not arrived. Since then, 100s of stories have emerged where people committed heroic acts to save others, their property and animals.

We watched courageous pilots fly helicopters and huge planes into heavy smoke in repeated attempts to douse the ravaging flames.

The damage will cost many billions of dollars and the Tubbs Fire (and surrounding Sonoma County fires) will surely go down in history as the most destructive wildfire in US history, however, without the self-less dedication of 1000s of firefighters, first responders, and law enforcement officers the damage could have been so much worse. Many of them continued to battle even though they were told that their own homes had been destroyed.

As awful as this experience continues to be, the responses of these men and women transcend normal human behavior and offer us hope for humanity that just last longer than a transitory rainbow.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

Tubbs Fire—Diablo Wind

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An old English proverb suggests:

“It’s an ill wind that blows nobody good”

The recent fires throughout Napa and Sonoma Counties qualify as Ill Winds.

It is common practice for California Dept. of Forestry officials to name fires by their place of origin. Ergo, the fire that destroyed over 3,500 Santa Rosa homes and businesses began near Tubbs Lane in Calistoga. However, it quickly exploded into a firestorm driven by a 70 mph “Diablo Wind.” The name of the wind could not be more perfect: Devil’s Wind.

Devil Winds are atypical winds that result when high-pressure builds over the Nevada desert and causes air to move toward a low-pressure zone over the Pacific Ocean. As the wind rushes down the western Sierra Nevada slope, it is compressed and gets hotter, drier and faster. This condition is the opposite of prevailing westerly winds that typically blow moist, ocean-cooled air over hotter California climes. Diablo Winds typically occur in the summertime when the combination of higher heat, higher wind velocity and extremely low humidity create a potentially disastrous formula for wildfires in California. In SoCal they are known as the Santa Ana winds.

The Tubbs Firestorm destroyed a several-mile-wide swath, devouring forests, vineyards, homes and ranches on its 15-mile rampage to the north edge of the city of Santa Rosa. Reaching the northeast outskirts of the city, it mysteriously veered south in a fiery inferno that consumed over 2,500 homes. Many residents had to flee with only the clothes they were wearing.

The fire is still active and along with several other fires in Sonoma County, the number of homes, structures and businesses destroyed has exceeded 3,500. It has the potential of being the worst wildfire in California history.

Although Sonoma County lies west of Napa County, Napa Valley has been covered in a thick blanket of smoke since Sunday night. The smoke has been bothersome, but a trifling inconvenience compared to the total devastation that 1,000s of Sonoma residents and business owners are struggling to cope with.

This all changed Wednesday. We thought we were safe until a spot-fire erupted 8 miles west of us, near the junction of St. Helena and Calistoga roads. It was headed in our direction and posed a threat to our home and the town of St. Helena. I drove 4 miles to the top of Spring Mt. Rd. where a Napa Co. Sheriff deputy had blocked the road. He described the fire and said that it was rapidly approaching upslope. He went on to say that pilots were desperately trying to suppress it with fire-retardant, but if they failed he would have to close Spring Mt. Rd. He didn’t have to tell me that if the fire crested over the ridge, its downslope path led directly to our home and the heart of St. Helena.

I was confident that if this happened we could pack up prized possessions and evacuate to our daughter’s home in Tiburon. My wife was not convinced and so we packed up and fled, not knowing if we would ever see our beloved home again.

Although our Tiburon family welcomed us warmly, the night was long and sleep was interrupted with images of our house going up in flames. Finally, morning arrived and we were able to call our neighbor, who opted to wait for the mandatory evacuation order. It never came. Evidently, the amazing pilots were able to stop the blaze on the Sonoma side of Spring Mountain and possibly save our home and the town of St. Helena.

Upon returning home, walking through the house was a surreal experience. When we left, we had to concede the possibility that it would not survive the fire. But it did and we felt a bit like we were in a “Twilight Zone.”

The horrific event has created a schizophrenic dilemma. Of course we are grateful that our home was not destroyed, but heartsick over the misery and trauma that so many have been forced to deal with.

Existentialists might dismiss the cause of the horrific conflagration as simply a capricious whim of Mother Nature, however, I suspect that poets, sages and seekers are more likely to describe the massive destruction as the result of the Devil’s Wind:

“It’s an ill wind that blows nobody good”

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

“One Day’s Exposure To Mountains Is Better Than A Cartload Of Books.” John Muir

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Excerpt: Biodesign Out For A Walk.

“He’s freakin’ nuts if he thinks I am going to sleep up there!” Although I think the student who muttered these words was half kidding, I was in good company. 130 years ago, John Muir was often regarded as a tramp, bum, social misfit and perhaps most demeaning, “a ne’er-do-well:” an idle, worthless person; a person who is ineffectual, unsuccessful, or completely lacking in merit, good-for-nothing.

During the formative years of the Biodesign program, I had some parents, colleagues and administrators who leaned in that direction. They were skeptical about taking students away from the educationally sacred ground of the St. Helena High School campus.

However, I was blessed to have had a university grad-school biology professor who took me to Yosemite. He kindled a dream that if there were ever a way to take my biology students to Yosemite, I would do it. The dream not only came true, but also exceeded my wildest expectations. Eventually, our annual Yosemite trip grew to 6 days, we added a 6-day trip to the Grand Canyon and a 5-day trip to the Mendocino Coast; totaling a whopping 17 days away from school.

As we immersed ourselves in the mountains, and Muir’s writing, we discovered that what he was preaching about was absolutely true.

“One day’s exposure to mountains is better than a cartload of books.”

Muir nearly died, perhaps a dozen times, as he tried to get as close as he could to the heart of Nature. Although we did not intentionally plan to follow him that closely, sleeping on top of Half Dome always provided some thrilling adventures. Like many of Muir’s treks, this was not commonly done or, apart from very few avid rock climbers, even considered possible. Considering the world population, the odds for sleeping on top were about 1:14,000,000, which are higher odds than being struck by lightning.

Amazingly, I got to sleep up there with 19 classes. I led smaller groups up there 6 more times for a total of 25 trips to the top. Each time I arrived I communed with John Muir’s spirit and fully appreciated what he meant when he said, “finally, I was back in church again.”

It is little wonder that I feel supremely blessed. Also, it does not surprise me if some of the readers of Biodesign Out For A Walk think I am “freakin’ nuts.” ;o)

Yosemite NP banned camping on top of Half Dome about 20 years ago and so many of those students and chaperones, who got to sleep on top, hold precious memories of events that are no longer possible.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

Darwin’s Dilemma—Spiritual Gifts Part II

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Sometimes it is aggravating when IT “reads” my posts and sends me links and ads that “they” think I will like (or buy). However, this was not the case when, after I posted the blog involving Darwin, Mozart and Sunny Choi. Quite mysteriously, a YouTube video of Yeol Eum Son’s performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto #21 popped up. I sat mesmerized by what I was seeing.

As if Ms. Son’s stunning performance were not enough evidence of her virtuosity, she frequently closed her eyes and silently commanded her fingers to find 1000s of notes “in the dark.” The concerto was 32 minutes long, which required her to commit perhaps as many as 30,000 notes to memory. From my highly limited musical ability, I could not detect a single error.

The fact that it is highly unlikely that 99.99% of the world population will ever be able to do what she can do lends credence to the reason why many biological and behavioral scientists call her “gifted.” However, if beauty is in the eye of the beholder, perhaps the ability to discern spiritual gifts is as well.

A well-known British biologist has spent much of his career (and made millions of dollars) railing that there is no evidence for the existence of God. Poor chap. I wonder if he has ever hiked to the top of Yosemite’s Half Dome or to the bottom of Grand Canyon; walked through the Louvre in Paris, visited St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, listened to Handel’s “Messiah,” Mozart’s “Requiem,” or Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony.”

Paraphrasing Thomas Jefferson, people have been endowed by their Creator with the spiritual gift of “free will.” It may be the greatest human irony that some of them have chosen to use that gift in an attempt to deny their Creator’s existence.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

Darwin—Mozart—Sunny Choi—Spiritual Gifts

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It is a rare human being (especially male) who is not vexed by being shown that his logic is faulty. Charles Darwin did not belong to that group and reportedly became furious when Alfred Wallace pointed out that his Theory of Evolution did not explain the origin of exceptional human talents involving music, mathematics and creative arts.

Over 150 years after Darwin’s, “On the Origin of Species” was published scientists reluctantly concede that the origin of Wallace’s triad is still completely enigmatic.

Like Darwin and Wallace, they understand that the three extraordinary talents are not genetically transferred or controlled by instinct and cannot be predicted. Therefore, intellectually honest scientists are obligated to regard these talents as “gifts,” thereby allowing that they must come from beyond the recipients. For devout scientists, this realization can be quite disturbing and require acquiescing to the real probability that, if “gifts” are involved, there must be a “giver.”

Serious “birders,” meticulously maintain a “life list” that records every species of bird they have observed first hand. Likewise, serious “seekers” maintain a spiritual list of wisdom, stories, and events that point to the existence of the “intelligent design” of the universe. This lofty approach of striving for greater spiritual awareness was reflected in the 1954 Audubon Society statement of their philosophy, which began with:

“We believe in the wisdom of nature’s design.”

All of these thoughts gushed forth as I watched Sunny Choi perform a beautiful interpretation of John Denver’s, “Annie’s Song.” Choi is not only a highly gifted musician; she is capable of using a piano as an extension of her body, mind and soul. And if her recital were not enough, to further showcase her gift, about half way through the performance she closed her eyes and silently commanded her fingers to find the notes “in the dark.”

Although it is highly unlikely that 99.9% of the world population will ever be able to do what Choi can do, her gift is not unprecedented.

Wolfgang Mozart lived only 35 years, but demonstrated a level of musical genius that many musicologists regard as “superhuman” and predict will not likely ever be equaled. Although his lifespan was only half of the average of 70 years, he composed an estimated 600 works of music. His music has been featured in over 300 movies. He composed 50 symphonies, 25 piano concertos, 12 violin concertos, 27 concerto arias, 26 string quartet opuses, 103 minuets, 15 masses, and 21 opera works. Some of his most famous operas include “Don Giovanni”, “Magic Flute”, “The Marriage of Figaro”, and “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik or (a little night music)”.

“There is a story that Mozart once said, ‘when the angels sing for God, they sing Bach; but when they sing for themselves, they sing Mozart’”. (Googlesearch.com). There are also reports that some of his works were “note-perfect” on the first draft, which meant that not a single note had to be changed.

Like Mozart, Charles Darwin was spiritually gifted and at the tender age of 19 began to see that the Genesis story of Creation must be allegorical and more profound than man had guessed. He eventually arrived at the conclusion that Creation and evolution must be the result of cybernetic interaction. Evidence of this can be found in, “The Autobiography of Charles Darwin:”

“Another source of conviction in the existence of God, connected with reason and not feelings, impresses me as having more weight. This follows from the extreme difficulty or rather impossibility of conceiving this immense and wonderful universe, including man with his capacity for looking backwards and far into futurity, as the result of blind chance or necessity. When thus reflecting I feel compelled to look to a First Cause having an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of man; and I deserve to be called a Theist”

Although I don’t recall him citing Wallace’s triad, he did accept his failure to explain human evolution, which includes the wonderfully mysterious origin of musical, mathematical and artistic gifts.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

Sasha The Potter and the Decline of Democracy in the US

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In the spring of 1986, the Biodesign class from St. Helena High School traveled to Mendocino, Ca. to explore the world-famous pygmy forest. They had also been invited to participate in a pottery workshop led by Sasha Makovkin, renowned potter, naturalist and philosopher, whose studio was among the dwarf trees.

As he transformed amorphous lumps of clay into works of art, he shared words of wisdom to spellbound students. After completing his presentation he asked if the students had any questions.

One of the students asked what he thought was the greatest threat to American society. Almost as if the question had been scripted, Sasha responded:

“Situational Ethics.” Sociocultural, family and religious traditions are being eroded and replaced with the doctrine of, ‘if it feels good, do it.’ It’s a spiritual disease, but the farther people drift from the truth, the less they will be aware of that.”

Recently, the citizens of the town of St. Helena, Ca. voted to establish a law banning the use of gasoline-powered leaf blowers that emitted noise levels exceeding 65 dB. The night the election results were announced, the chief of police announced that “her” police department would not actively enforce the new law. Of course, this meant that many professional gardeners and homeowners had no incentive to replace the noisy machines.

By refusing to “actively” enforce the will of the voters, she should have been terminated for dereliction of duty: the failure or refusal to perform assigned duties in a satisfactory manner. Democracy and the rule of law were both diminished that night due to a willful act of situational ethics.

Sadly, St. Helena is a classic example of the, “canary in the coal mine syndrome.” Situational ethics has spread nationwide and has afflicted all three branches of the US government. It is an equal-opportunity social fabric destroyer. It is non-specific relative to gender, race, ethnicity, religion, political stripe or economic status. No one is immune. Even the eminent scientist Albert Einstein admitted that falsifying some of his data to justify his theory was the gravest mistake in his life.

A recent Gallup poll indicated that only 30% of American voters regard mainstream news media as trustworthy, with only 14% trusting TV news. Earlier this year the US Congress hit an astoundingly low approval rating of 8%. Unfortunately many politicians and members of the news media have discovered that they can lie to the public and not be held accountable.

The future is not promising. Few (if any) scientists doubt that the human brain is still evolving. Understandably, some have expressed concern over growing evidence that suggests that this includes the brain’s increasing capabilities of lying and deception.

And so this spring, 31 years after the Biodesign Class listened to a potter, sage and philosopher in the pygmy forest, it is clear that he was also a prophet: The end result of unchecked situational ethics will be anarchy and social chaos.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

Dewitt Jones: “The Banquet Is Laid Though Nobody Comes.”

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Although, as a little boy, I attended Sunday school at the little white church in Oakville, Ca., my spiritual search was low-key at best until I was 31 and Lettie asked her fateful question:

“Is memorizing all the parts of a fetal pig really important?”

(Biodesign Out For A Walk, chap. 1. “Genesis: Lettie’s Question.”)

She launched me on a journey that I have been on for over 45 years. This journey has taken me to thousands of wondrous physical, mental and spiritual places and exposed me to some of the greatest naturalists the world has known. One of those people was John Muir, who not only led me to Yosemite, but, coincidentally to the dawning of my spiritual awareness.

However, as a traditional biology teacher, I was intrigued, even a bit conflicted to learn that he kept a copy of The New Testament (plus the Psalms) with him on all of his meanderings. Although I never became a Biblical scholar, there were some puzzling passages that I reencountered over the years. Retrospectively, however, this should not have been surprising. During his trial for suspected heresy, the great scientist Galileo informed his accusers that the Bible contained many metaphors and parables that were often difficult for people to comprehend.

For me, one of those passages was:

The banquet is laid though nobody comes.

Somehow, the seven words were seven fragments that held little meaning.

Evidently, not unlike Dianna (Biodesign Out For A Walk chap. 28, Amazing Faith) I lacked the spiritual awareness of what the phrase meant.

And then recently an amazing synchronicity occurred. A Fb friend was struggling with the woes of modern society and I wanted to cheer her up. She is a Nature lover and so I Googled: Photos: Celebrating the joys of Nature.

The attached YouTube video, by Dewitt Jones, popped up and not only explained the cryptic Bible passage to my often-balky left-brain, but presented another wonderful mystery.

I thought his name was familiar, but I could not recall why. Finally, it dawned on me that I had met him on Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Meadow, 39 years ago. Well, his body wasn’t there, but his spirit was in a book, John Muir’s America, which he coauthored with T.H. Watkins. Watkins did a superb job with the text and Jones added spectacular photos. The book became one of the cornerstones of the Biodesign Class.

However, the intriguing part is that I may not have ever discovered it were it not for the loving members of Biodesign ’79. They purchased the book and presented it to me on the meadow as a birthday/thank you gift. And now, 39 years later, through a miracle of “I-T,” Jones reentered my life and completed the magnificent circle that he helped initiate.

I used to suggest to students that Biodesign was like a wonderful smorgasbord of concepts and ideas. I also assured them that, although some of the ideas may involve human spirituality, I was a biology teacher and not a guru; ergo they were free to agree with or disagree with all physical, mental or spiritual topics. I did caution them that some of the ideas (even John Muir’s) could be challenging, even provocative.

Then along came Dewitt Jones, citing the Bible, suggesting that, for all those many years, we were actually at a spiritual BANQUET and not merely a smorgasbord. The suddenly illuminated passage became perfectly clear.

The countless visual images and emotion-filled moments offered at Yosemite, Grand Canyon and the Mendocino Coast, provided a spiritual banquet which offered food for our souls, far more nourishing than the finest caviar, escargot and champagne. With food like this, it is little wonder that Muir was content to throw a couple pounds of dried bread balls (and some tea bags) into a pillowcase, grab a single wool blanket and vanish into his beloved mountain-wilderness for a month.

I have remained in contact with a few members of Bio ’79. One of them is Lori Evensen, who could not have known that she would be partially responsible for this blog. 39 years ago, all of the students signed the Jones/Watkins book and she signed it:

“Mr. Young,

I hope your birthday will be as beautiful as Yosemite. (Be sure to read pg. 57, a great description of life). Thank you for being you.

Love, Lori.”

John Muir’s America: Page 57:

“No pain here, no dull empty hours, no fear of the past, no fear of the future. Drinking this champagne water is pure pleasure, so is breathing the living air…”

A virtual banquet indeed!

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

Sisyphus-Half Dome-The Superior Female Brain

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“One day’s exposure to mountains is better than a cartload of books.” – John Muir

“Red exhaustion rips at your throat
and salt sweat spills off your forehead and mats your eyelids and brows…
The long distant runner is paid by the snap of a white thread across his chest.
You are paid by the picture at your feet.”
– Terry Russell: “On The Loose.”

One of the greatest spiritual gifts of the Biodesign Program was the most obvious, least understood and was often taken for granted. The gift is the biological process known as “gender diversification.”

Before each trip to Yosemite, I warned:

“If you want to find out what kind of friend you have, take him/her camping and see.” Perhaps, the same can be said about discovering differences due to gender diversity.

Ever since our first attempt (and failure) to climb Half Dome (1976), it became conspicuously obvious that gender differences transcended from the physical to mental and, perhaps most importantly, spiritual awareness. When discussing spiritual concepts proposed by Muir, Emerson and Thoreau et al, the girls were typically quicker to grasp them. However, for the first 10 years these discoveries remained mostly anecdotal and not well defined. Then, in August of 1983, Omni Magazine featured an article titled, “Superiority of the Female Brain.” The author, Carol Johmann, followed up on Dr. Roger Sperry’s discoveries of the split neocortex in humans. The title was probably a bit hyperbolic, however, Johann described the now widely accepted premise, that, because of increased inter-cerebral neural networks, females are typically more harmoniously balanced than males.

Interestingly, when I presented the new evidence to the Class of ’84, they were not particularly surprised or concerned. In fact, they seemed to be relieved that many of the behavioral differences between males and females, that they were already familiar with, actually had biological origins.

Although I lost my original copy of the Omni Magazine, in a recent, wonderful synchronicity, I was able to replace it. Johmann’s article prompted me to create a literary montage of observations from a few girls in the Biodesign Class.

CLIMBING HALF DOME was the hardest thing I have ever done. There were many times when my body was screaming for me to stop. I don’t normally sweat very much, but sweat matted my hair and streamed down my face. Part of me felt grimy and disgusting, but the amazing scenery, and especially my classmates, urged me to press on. Of course, I had seen photos of “The Cables,” but I was not prepared to climb the granite stairway that ascends the Sub-Dome. There were no railings and both sides of the steps seemed to drop off into oblivion. The weight of my backpack added to the trepidation of every step. Although the climb was physically demanding, the stunning views prompted me to think that I was ascending a stairway to heaven right here on earth. It was a relief to get to the base of the cables, that is until I stood at the bottom and looked up.

I REMEMBER Mr. Young mentioning that because girls typically have smaller bodies and weigh less than guys, that they should try to keep their backpacks as light as possible. I weigh 105 lbs. and am not particularly athletic. Suddenly, looking up at the top of Half Dome, my 35 lb. backpack felt like it was full of rocks. I began to cry as wave of fear swept through my body. I was absolutely certain that there was no way I would be able to reach the top.

IN AN ATTEMPT to keep our circles gender-blended, Mr. Young would frequently say, “form a circle; roses and thorns.” It was definitely not “p-c,” though he did not specify just who the roses or thorns were. However, the girls typically felt like they were the roses and the more “macho” guys took a little pride in being considered thorns. In this case, he informed us that we would ascend The Dome in a roses and thorns line. He added that this was not a time for pride, guilt or self-doubt and we should all help and encourage each other.

Amazingly, after we started up, it wasn’t as scary as it looked. My partner stayed close behind me and offered his support and the reassurance that he literally “had my back.” When we reached the top, my feelings about heaven-on-earth intensified. With tears and laughter, we joined in a massive group hug with a sense of joy and exuberance that I had never felt. I was totally exhausted, but I had never felt better in my life.

ON THE WAY HOME, I was floating on a cloud, filled with wonders, visions and marvels of Yosemite. I guess I thought the euphoric feeling would never end. What a mistake. Back at school some of my friends resented my exuberant behavior. I realized that I was one week behind on homework assignments and some teachers resented my joyful attitude. I panicked when I noted the looming deadline for college applications and my parents seemed to be making excessive demands on my time.

My emotional high crashed and I wondered if the trip were worth the anguish I was feeling. Then I remembered a poster we had on our biology lab wall.

“You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.”    Renee Daumal

And then a major epiphany! Half Dome was very real, but it was also symbolic and metaphorical. When I was on the top, I remember turning around and Cloud’s Rest loomed 1000 ft. above me. I realized that if I climbed that, there would be an endless number of Sierra peaks to climb, some nearly twice as high as Half Dome.

So this is what I have learned. Life involves climbing an endless series of Half Domes. I am sure that college will be a gigantic H-D experience. If I decide to marry and have kids, my future husband and children will surely provide many H-D challenges. However, I have discovered a source of untapped power that will enable me to accomplish anything I set my mind on. Some of my challenges will likely be extremely difficult, and require an investment of blood, sweat and tears, however, each new mountaintop experience will provide vistas, joys and sorrows that I could not experience without them.”

Note: One of the greatest blessings that I received as a teacher was to watch young adults express words of wisdom that many adults will never fully comprehend. The last, very perceptive young woman could have likened her mountaintop revelation to the doomed Sisyphus, but she accepted the stress and pain as the price for becoming spiritually alive. She was wise beyond her years and no doubt attended a college or university where many of her PhD holding professors had little (if any) knowledge of what she had discovered.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

Easter Poems, Prayers and Promises

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“As a modern man, I have sat in concert halls and watched huge audiences floating dazed on the voice of a great singer. Alone in a dark box I have heard far off as if ascending out of some dark stairwell the guttural whisperings and bestial coughings out of which that voice arose. Again, I have sat under the slit dome of a mountain observatory and marveled, as the great wheel of the galaxy turned in all its midnight splendor, that the mind in the course of three centuries has been capable of drawing into its strange, non-spatial interior that world of infinite distance and multitudinous dimensions.” Loren Eiseley: The Immense Journey

As a soloist, Andrea Bocelli has the ability to move audiences to unspeakably beautiful levels of human harmony. However, performing in a duet, he can also masterfully complement his partner. In “The Prayer,” with Tori Kelly, even when they are singing in unison, the gender divide clearly celebrates two voices. However, when they effortlessly glide into two-part-harmony, they raise the level of spiritual intensity to new heights.

I join Loren Eiseley and celebrate the gift of music and the ability to; …float dazed on the voices of Andrea Bocelli and Tori Kelly.

Happy Easter.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

Silver Bridge-Mules and God in Grand Canyon

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“This follows from the extreme difficulty or rather impossibility of conceiving this wonderful universe, including man with his capacity of looking far backwards and far into futurity, as the result of blind chance or necessity. When thus reflecting I feel compelled to look to a First Cause having an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of man; and I deserve to be called a Theist.” Charles Darwin

Fifteen Biodesign Classes were blessed with the privilege of walking across the “Silver Bridge,” which connects Grand Canyon’s South Rim to Phantom Ranch. They enjoyed watching the Colorado River flow beneath the grated deck they were walking on. The same cannot be said about mules. Mules refuse to cross the bridge because the flowing river below spooks them. People may scoff at their behavior until they realize that they are just as prone to be spooked by spiritual wisdom or events that eclipse their limited mental capacity.

“They distrust, it would seem, all shapes and thoughts but their own.” Loren Eiseley.

Grand Canyon is a wonderfully real and symbolic enigma for man. In addition to its mind-boggling immensity, breathtaking beauty and infinite array of kaleidoscopic colors, it is the greatest page of biological history on planet Earth. There is nothing on Earth that it can be compared to. Simply put, it is too big for people to wrap their minds around.

While watching the water flow beneath their feet, students often struggled in vain to comprehend the fact that the water has been flowing for 1.8 bil’li-yon years (Carl Sagan intonation). Walking along the bottom of Grand Canyon was typically an intensely humbling experience, which often left students with a wonderful hodgepodge of feelings of awe, trepidation and delight. But mostly they expressed an overarching feeling of gratitude for the privilege of being alive at that moment in time. Loren Eiseley expressed a similar emotional awakening on one of his trips into canyon country: “It was a great day to be alive!”

They looked and pondered, looked some more and pondered, but there was no resolution. Little wonder Carl Sandberg wrote; “There goes God with an army of banners” and follows with “who is God and why? Who am I and why?”

As for the mules; their behavior is heavily influenced by instinct, which does not allow for coping with moving water 50 feet below their hooves. Humans however, have been endowed with the gift of “free will,” which includes freedom of thought. However, this freedom also allows for egoism, arrogance and the foolish misassumption that man is smarter that the Creator that fashioned him.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com