Life's Little Joys

So, I have been watching "Life" on the Discovery Channel since 6pm tonight (it's now nearly 11pm) and I am completely mesmerized. I am quickly hooked on any show that revolves around or highlights how and why things work. I can't resist a good knowledge session every now and again. I was addicted to the show "Earth" last year and watching "Life" tonight got me thinking about why I am so intrigued by these types of shows. I've decided it is because each system within a particular species is extremely intricate and largely instinctive.

"Life" highlights the idiosyncrasies among insects, primates, sea creatures, and even plants. Ants are the original architects. Their infrastructures below their hills are designed to create direct paths to main living chambers with smaller chambers off to the side for living area. They also have a ventilation system that expels carbon dioxide and draws in oxygen using food waste. Scientists recently poured concrete into an abandoned ant colony and found that the colony went 26 feet deep into the earth. A creation this large is comparative to a group of humans building the Great Wall of China and colonies like this exist all over the globe.

Another episode focused on a tree that was able to thrive on an island, even though it spent 6 hours a day beneath high tide. Salt water is deadly for any tree and by law of nature this tree should be dead. However, it has adapted and has pores on its roots that take in as much oxygen as possible during low tide and filter 99% of the salt water out during high tide. The little salt that seeps through this barrier is directed into a few sacrificial leaves which wither and die. A tree with no brain or thought is able to thrive when it should be dead.

Incredible stories like that of the tree and ants inspire me. They also highlight how reflective nature is of man and man of nature. When groupthink is in place and humans work together for the greater good of their "colony" they are able to create amazing feats just as the ants do on a daily basis. Watching their selfless existence causes me to really question my attitude towards my fellow man. Adaptiveness is another great quality that cause man, or tree, to thrive. Our ability to react to a situation and work with the surroundings or tools we've been given benefits us much more than being irritated that life doesn't work the way we want it to or refusing to change does.

As useful as the parallels are with what they can teach us on a survival and physical standpoint, they are all the more important on a spiritual level. I can't watch an episode of any of the aforementioned programs without being in awe of our creator. Every detail only further magnifies how breathtaking are the details of every living organism. Nothing is in place that doesn't serve a purpose. Knowing that, how can anyone not believe in a god of some sort? "I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in," George Washington Carver illustrates this concept so simply.

Fall is a season filled with beautiful scenes in nature. You wouldn't think twice about trees covered in yellow, red, and orange leaves, yet there is a specific reason that the phenomenon occurs (beyond the aesthetic it creates) every year. As the temperature drops, trees begin to suck the nutrients from their leaves into their trunks, this includes chlorophyll which gives leaves their green color, and seal off the veins that connect branch and leaf. The trees do this so they can survive during the winter.

Look inward, if the tree wasn't astounding enough, to any of your various systems. The minute details surrounding something as basic as typing this sentence requires the collaboration of many different parts of our bodies. I have to think that 1) I want to type and 2) what I want to type. Next, the information from my brain has to flow from my nerves through synapses all the way to my fingers and then back so my brain is aware that the message was received. This happens for every single letter typed.

I guess I enjoy shows like "Life" and "Earth" because of their relevancy. Information on the shows is about creatures and plants I encounter on a regular basis. It is neat to understand why they function they way they do and that such care was taken into creating every thing on earth. I can only feel loved and in awe when I think of the time and effort God has taken and continues to take with each new creation. The parallels between them and I are no accident and the Discovery Channel provides programs that enlighten and inspire me due to their simultaneous depth and simplicity. I'll end with a quote from Albert Einstein, "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."