Galapagos

Who is she, this demanding presence deeply entangled in the "mystery of mysteries"—what is she waiting for? Where is she headed, and how will she evolve? Surrounded by starkly-uninviting vegetation, yet still an environment that predestines Galapagos species to survive under the most harsh, unforgiving conditions, it is certain she will live, even turn her suggestive, erotic posing into a ripe, bearing of fruit. But the Galapagos are not just about survival and reproduction, giant tortoises, lava lizards and waved albatrosses continuing their unique species. Its most seminal lesson—the one most crucial to this still-undefined nymph submerged in a bleak netherworld, ever waiting for direction—is Adaptation. Conforming to their surroundings is enough for those fabled creatures. Clearly content to just live, they make peace with the wild ocean currents and the rough, rocky hillsides. But for her, merely living, existing in unsheltered in the cold, the often merciless universe, is never satisfying. She hopes to go way beyond simple survival to reach a far higher existential plane, to question whether life has real purpose—and if she can indeed escape the often “absurd” natural world, will she discover true spiritual meaning? Leaving her dark depths, and becoming more than a flightless Galapagos cormorant, sunning itself on the stones, demands all sorts of flights of imagination, resolve, and teachings. There’s no certainty she will fly unfettered by the gravity of the Ordinary. Entanglements—life’s fascination with glowing objects can be drowning, just vacuous trappings, nothingness. But clear-eyed, luminous, dominating her otherwise gloomy, unwelcoming habitat, she is poised to flee these subterranean depths. She can stop shielding herself from indecision and self-doubt with those long arms—reach out for more edifying light—and move towards a higher, more radiant realm. She can. Now the only question is: Will she?