All of what seems to be parts of this universe are not truly separate parts at all but only mistakingly appear to be parts; still, most scientists fail to fully perceive this.
Like man, ants have an organized social structure; unlike man, ants do not ruin the environmental whole.
The mind that primarily perceives through (and with) its many accumulations and beliefs, largely sees — and exists as — what is old, stale, stockpiled, and unalive.
Needless fear blocks the mind from true order and from real freedom and understanding.
A universe without pain and suffering is like a phony plastic plant that need not struggle through the dirt and that is devoid of real growth and feeling.
Look at the map of life as a whole; merely concentrating on a single point or place (of supposed self) is fragmentary, limited, negligible, and ludicrous.
Are you just reading an ordinary poem, or is the magic of the poem unfolding what you are in a miraculous, transformational way?
Awareness is not what you cultivate over time; it occurs to the mind that (now) is passionately and holistically perceptive.
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 
Wonderful image!
Re map of life “as a whole” – not feasible to SEE the whole, but indeed to accept there is so much more than can be seen DOES change the perspective on whatever single point is pushing my triggers in a given moment!
Very good point, Jazz, that the whole may not be something merely seen visually (or with any one of our senses, for that matter). As long as you call them “my triggers,” perhaps that is what is partially what is preventing perceiving the whole. Thanks much, Jazz, regarding the photo. ☺
And i thought that was love at first sight! 🧡
Mayflies live for a about 24hrs, the Mantis shrimp perceive the world through 12 channels of colour (humans use 3), bats perceive through echo location and birds can see the earth’s magnetic field! These are realities completely different than humans’.
How did humans ever come to imagine that what we experience is the total, truest reality of all?
I think we’ve all had the experience of being totally convinced about a situation, to end up realizing it was never how we imagined it to be. A necessary and humbling experience.
We should learn from the frog and take a leap of faith into the awesome unknown🌻
Yes, monicat, i understand what you are pointing at. Just a couple of days ago, i was contemplating about how amazing it is that porpoises/dolphins, with sonar/echolocation, can read the internal structure of other dolphins, including other animals and humans. The size of dolphin brains, and their many convolutions, is mind-boggling. The short one or two-sentence “shorties” that i provided, are very limited, since words themselves are inherently limited. One did not mean to imply that we, as humans, can see every aspect of the whole thing with the senses that we humans have (and “are”). But we, as humans, can still perceive the map in a whole — or holistic way — by just dealing with the senses that we happened to be endowed with. That is enough; that is enough to possibly open the door to a vast whole that is beyond our limited senses (and beyond the senses of all other organic/inorganic creatures). 😊
Yes, the unknown is important and magical; too many are unappreciative of it.
Tom, these two lines truly resonate with me, and I thank you for delivering it so eloquently:
Needless fear blocks the mind from true order and from real freedom and understanding.
A universe without pain and suffering is like a phony plastic plant that need not struggle through the dirt and that is devoid of real growth and feeling.
I guess you “toad” us so!!! 😉 🐸 😁
Thanks, Kym! So glad these resonated with you! ☺
Speaking of “toads,” while sitting out on my front steps the other night, by the river, i heard an animal making repetitive chirping noises that were loud and unique. I pondered about what animal could be making such interesting sounds. I surmised that it could maybe be a frog or some kind of large insect perhaps. Later on, i went on Google — thank goodness for Google — and discovered a video with the exact same sounds. It turned out to be a Common Green Katydid that was making the sounds. Although called “Common,” they live high up in the trees, hardly ever come down, and that is why people do not commonly see them. They make a loud chirping sound that, repetitively sounds like: Ka-ty-did, Ka-ty-did, Ka-ty-did…
🦗😊
You’re very welcome my friend. As you know I am not well-versed in the animal and insect kingdom as you are, so I had to look up and see what a Common Green Katydid looked like. 🦗 It looks just like our everyday grasshoppers to me, but they are like a chameleon, taking on the color of whatever they may be perched on. How fascinating! Thanks so much for my lesson of the day my friend! 👨🏼🏫 🌳 😊
Thanks, Kym! There are around 7 or 8 species of Katydids here in Illinois. And, sorry, it’s not Common Green Katydid, it is Common True Katydid. There are a lot of Katydids here along the river banks. They like the wild Honeysuckle and other wildflowers that grow along the river. But i just don’t see the Common Katydids; they are too high up in the trees. 🦗🦟
A little too much pain and suffering right now in our universe, so it is wonderful to step away from it briefly every chance I get. I like mom and daughter tree frog – they almost blend in together in their surroundings. I’ve never been lucky enough to meet one, let along a mom/daughter combo. 🙂
Yes, too much, that’s for sure, Linda, that’s for sure. It is always too much.
They (i.e., tree frogs) like to live where there is shade and water. That is my backyard. One somehow got into the house and was spotted on my living room wall. I’ll have to post a pic of that happening, which occurred just a few weeks ago. 🐸 😊
It’s likely not going to change anytime soon either Tom.
Well they are very cute and I hope you post a picture of the frog on the living room wall. I’d much rather see a frog than a centipede or a spider. The centipedes have been around a lot this Summer due to all this rain – we have rain tonight and another 1 1/2 inches tomorrow morning and more during the day. It will break the heat finally – we got to 80 again today.
Uh Oh, Linda, i am planning to post a Halloween pic of a giant Fisher Spider soon! (Green Frogs just aren’t scary enough!) 😲
Wow! So beautifully captured the mother and daughter tree frog! Thank you for sharing 💓😊😊👍
Thanks much, Priti! 😊
Holistically perceptive – again you nail it Tom…. And oh that toad….wondrous…. I love him and your photography…
Much appreciated, Sara! And… not “toad”; these two are tree frogs. 😉
(Stay close to nature and far from all of the insanity and indifference.) 🐸
Yes I know Tom – sorry for mistake – had just seen a giant toad in my yard – I do love your photos!
Tom, can you tell me what kind of tree frog this is? What a picture!
Thanks, Sara. Gray Tree Frog, i think… 🐸
Uhmmm not the one I have around here…and by the way are you still hearing them.? I am and it’s mid October but then temps are ridiculously high for this time of year – most people love it but I find it unsettling
It’s been mostly cold here, so haven’t been hearing them. One critter i noticed chirping a lot not too long ago, is the Common True Katydid. These hang high up in trees and are not commonly seen; they make a sound like Kay-ty-did, repeatedly. 🦗