Words matter. In fact, words are matter, because they set up the boundaries of human activity. For example, what is this stuff?

They Call it Water

Hmmph.

It’s not water. It’s a stream. Look at how the trees stream in it:

They Call it A Reflection

Hmmpph.

Look at how the sun streams on it:

The Sun Usually Travels at the Speed of Light

But in a stream, it travels at the speed of a duck.

Speaking of cosmic forces, look at how gravity streams in this stuff:

This Stuff is Too Full of Life to Leave to the Hydraulic Engineers

As if life were a generalized principle, such as ‘water’.

Here’s what the hydraulic and civil engineers have managed to make of their invention called water after all this time:

Okanagan Lake in the Spring Time (Okanagan Landing)

You might as well play golf in it, because swimming is not an option. Look at that muck.

Speaking of muck, look at the shoreline…

Kin Beach, Okanagan Lake

Wading with the kids, anyone? (Note: this is not natural muck. This is a physical record, or earth-photograph, of human activity.)

A better question to ask might be: is life gravity, or is it light?

Vernon Creek Mouth, Okanagan Landing

Note the gulls on the estuary. Well, they’re tiny, but if you squint, maybe… can you see them now? Way out there?

Or is water just a stream, a lake, and life?

Sometimes the Old Words are Best

Like… Joy! For starters. Words matter. 

Sometimes the old words are the best antidotes to the new ones. Sometimes, words are just not the answer:

Watercolour Painter at Play

(For more on this image, check out my sister blog, witual, by clicking: here.)

For our journey into worldlessness, check out the snow-capped mountains of late winter here: