"Biology Ponds" Before beginning this time to observe the ponds I found a quote in Slovic p. 113 that states, "The purpose of meditation practice is not enlightenment; it is to pay attention even at unextraordinary times, to be of the present, nothing-but-the-present, to bear this mindfulness of now into each event of ordinary life." With that in mind, I begin my own meditation. I sit here wandering what is going on. I am suppose to sit here and observe these three ponds and tell great detail about them, yet all I observe are the people that are walking around me. It is quite windy today and the wind makes the water ripple in certain areas. The water is definitely not calm it seems to look back at me and shimmer. Usually water soothes me and I feel relaxed and calm, but these ponds seem to be diluted and not clear. The sun is peeking out a bit now and the water does not seem as dark as it did. It is weird how light or some other element can change someone's entire perception of an object. The wind is out of control and it is hard to look at the water because things are blowing in my contacts. So I take the opportunity when the wind dies down to look at the water and see what is going on. The wind definitely makes the ponds not feel as stagnant anymore. The wind seems to push the water onto the next pond and helps continue the cycle. I like it when the water has ripples in it. It makes the light catch the little waves and glisten. I think that it makes the ponds look crisper and fresh. There are trees and bushes that surround the ponds. The trees and green life that is surrounding thr pond is so beautiful and refreshing. Darwin wrote,"Let it be remembered how powerful the influence of a tree or mammal has been shown to be." He is so true because even now things that I have seen in nature bring fond memories to me. As the strong wind blows the flexibility of the trees and bushes are tested. A little squirrel jumps into a small tree that hovers over the little fall between ponds. The wind begins to pick up and the tree and the squirrel begin to sway. His furry little tail is blown in the same direction of the branches. He quickly leaves the tree and begins to explore the ground once again. Another gust of wind comes and the water looks like it is scattered all about. Little tiny ripples form and bounce off the stone walls and bump into each other, if that is really possible. A sense of confusion seems to settle upon the pond. I am mainly focusing on the middle pond. It intrigues me the most because it is the one in the center. It has one pond streaming water to it and then accepts the new water while trickling the old water to the other pond, the lowest pond in elevation. The one observation that I have made that is a bit puzzling is the way the little brown leaves that lie on top of the water shift from one area to the other. I don't know if it is because of the wind or if the cycle that the water is moving in is a circular motion. Maybe not co much circular as back and forth from one end to the other. Although the leaves seem to float back and forth with no real direction, there is a patch of green leaves that have seem to collect together and make it look like a lily pad. These leaves have stayed in the round part of the right side of the pond this entire time. I wonder if it doesn't move as much because of their weight or what keeps them stable when there is so much movement happening due to the wind. It kind of makes me think of life. How do to some sort of shift or problem, so many people just move about back and forth with no real direction and their only reason for moving is because they were pushed. Yet there are still some who are stable and do not move because of the pushing and others just seem to float around them as they stay put. Just a little thought. The part of the water directly in front of me is totally cleared of debris. It actually looks kind of pretty right now. A few sticks protrude from the water and one is so small that I thought it was a turtlehead until I did a little bit better observation. I like the way the ponds were made to have scattered areas around them where a person can sit and be as close to the water as possible without getting in it. These areas are made with flat, large stones and it makes the ponds look nicer.