Pine

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On historic days such as this, when it may feel so hard to remember, it is still a beautiful world.

In memory of all those who have lost their lives today in Japan and beyond and for those who are only just contemplating how they will rebuild their lives.

I've always been a geographer at heart, studying the Earth, shaping so much of me, my globe trotting adventures, eco tourism, travel writing and photography, to physical geography and demographics. From my prize at school to my first degree. I could never imagine studying anything more interesting than the world, the Earth, its geology and then the people who inhabit it, the friendships made on field trips in the 80s are those in my life today, albeit we are scattered to the four corners.

The Earth seeks equilibrium and is never content unless she achieves it, which is never. Mother Nature has set herself an impossible task, degrading when it's too high and building when it falls too low, a colossal pendulum. We live tip toeing round her volatility, she shapes our world. Her violent mood swings, or more subtle ebbs and flows. She reminds us of everything from which we came and where we shall be at the end of our journey here. And yet she has no power over human spirit and fortitude, the soul. The will to recover, to aid, to grieve, to learn. No, of those, she has no power over.

On the campus grounds of UCLA, an image originally taken as part of my endeavours towards promoting tree preservation, so touched am I by the grace of these pines and how the air hangs heavily scented after the rains. I fear for them.

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