whale dreams of elephants

While drawing without intention - relaxed without thought - there appeared in an abstract way several elephants and a whale on the same page of my notebook. The elephants appeared to be within the whale's mind. I was listening via Youtube.com today to a version of 'Matte Kudasai', originally created by the band King Crimson. Some of the sound effects of the instruments were like the calls of whales; some like those of elephants. So I'm thinking about whales and elephants together.

Elephants are very large mammals, and so are whales. Their habitats are very different, though, the elephants on land, the whales at sea. Whales and elephants both when in their natural habitats, migrate in clans. The whales swim in pods. The elephants hike in a line, trunk clasping tail. Both species communicate among themselves in many ways - the whales make complex sounds, language perhaps, that travel long distances through the water. Elephants are expressive aloud as well, but they have other means of connection. Long ago, I think it was in Smithsonian magazine, I read of elephants that travel on foot from different locations across long distances in Africa, and meet up on the same day at what was described as an elephant graveyard, as though for a planned reunion. In the night, the article stated, the elephants circle and dance beneath the moon. They part the next day.

Could elephants enter the dream of a whale?

Jokes and riddles from The Animal Zone (by Gary Chmielewski, illustrated by Jim Caputo; 2008):


A farmer riding a horse saw a dog on the road.

"Good morning," said the dog.

"I didn't know dogs could talk," said the farmer out loud.

"Neither did I," said the horse.



What did one firefly say to the other firefly?

"Your son sure is bright for his age!"



Chris: "My cat Maddie is sick, so we're taking her to the animal doctor."

Alan: "Gee, I thought all doctors were people."



Why was the baby raised on monkey milk?

Because it was a baby monkey!



Why did the elephant quit the circus?

He didn't want to work for peanuts anymore!



Park Ranger: "Young man, there's no fishing here!"

Young Man: "You're telling me. I haven't caught anything in two hours."

I've been thinking about osmosis as a way to rehydrate. In other words, besides drinking fluids, fluids enter the body via contact with the body's surface - without entering the digestive system. I don't know how much it happens with humans or how significant it is, but many plants seem to respond to contact with water (through the surface of leaves and bark) in addition to uptake through the roots, as do insects and birds. I have no references for this - it's just observation and pondering in the heat of August in Texas. Rain is good.

I heard a factoid about a year ago that you can warm up by keeping even a small part of the body warm. For example, a pair of gloves or a scarf affects the overall temperature of the body. I've found this to be true in lowering one's temperature as well, that a cold wash cloth applied to the back of the neck, or running the wrists under cool water can cool down one's overall temperature. Washing dishes by hand in hot (not too hot!) water can have warming and relaxing effects. In the past, poultices (fabric cloths, or sacks) of herbs were warmed and applied to ease pain. Chilled poultices were used to reduce fevers and swelling. Some viruses and bacteria (and the cells of certain tumors) that thrive at normal human temperatures are diminished by temperature change. Regular swims in chilly water or soaking in hot baths can have positive effects on maintaining one's overall health.

Gospel music
is crackling
in the parking lot heat
call and response
from a recording
of a long past jubilee

cicadas start to tremble
from the shade of the tree-lined creek
over and under
the recorded voices
they call out and repeat

the ladies' voices
arc and fall
'thank God, thank God'
they sing
the cicadas buzz and hum
at one with the gospel hymn

afternoon at the laundromat

the washers are chugging
low pitched rumbling
an everyday murmuring
of water and machinery.
smell the warm cotton and suds
the air conditioners keep things cool
the dryers keep things hot
white and steel washing machines
shiver and shake
and socks hop

giraffe

i remember you
giraffe in the zoo
so tall and so very calm
beneath the leafy trees
your kid at your side
we basked in your
bountiful serenity

Yesterday, I briefly visited a little shop of Tibetan books and items. Mostly, I noticed the bowl-shaped bells, the 'singing bowls'. There were many other things that looked interesting that I do not know. As I left, I asked about one of them. It was an ornate box with a spindle inside, a spindle holding a decorated cylinder. I asked the clerk about it, and she told me it's for prayer. I asked more about it - do Tibetans pray as they spin the wheel? She said, the spinning itself is a form of prayer. I spun the wheel.


Without knowing a lot about them, I have seen Tibetan prayer flags. Squares of cloth or paper, each one a different color, hang from a string, like flags on a clothesline. They flutter in the breeze. The spindle reminded me of the flags, that this is a culture that acknowledges wordless, physical manifestations of prayer.


As I left, I glanced at a book on Tibet, and read some of the forward, by the Dalai Lama. He wrote that the main gift that Tibet offers the world is its study of compassion and wisdom.