November 6, 2024- The road winds around, taking vehicle and walker alike down the hill, from the center of Jerome to Douglas Mansion, the home of Jerome State Park. In a center room on the first floor, the world of magnificent colour greets the viewer, from the safety of a locked case.
These glorious minerals, the product of high volcanic heat, come to us from a time when even the dinosaurs were still ages from appearing on Earth. The Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian Eras were times of giant ferns, dragonflies the size of sparrows and scorpions the size of cats. These were collectively known as the Carboniferous Period, when heat and compression began to fuse minerals into gems, and transform plant and animal matter into petroleum.
I never get tired of any display of bright colours, and minerals are especially appealing, because of their longevity. That same longevity puts our perceived woes and concerns of this day and age into a very bright perspective.
In yesterday’s presidential election, a majority of voters freely chose to put the brakes on what they perceived as frenetic social change. They appeared to be opting for a “wagons in the circle” approach, the majority within this majority trying to at least buy some time, so that the changes that are buffeting the planet now may at least become manageable, comprehensible.
Real change, however, happens in stages, is often imperceptible and is definitely not easily counteracted. From the evolution of rocks and minerals into gems to the arc of human history, no impediment to change is very effective in the fullness of time.
I went to Jerome today, for the very reason of focusing on this feature of change, from the perspective of natural history. Minerals never disappoint. They shine outwardly to us, through the ages.
A Sagittarian Seeker 