In my other life as a journalist, I spend a lot of time writing about white-sand beaches. And I’ve been lucky enough to walk along such beaches in exotic locations, as well as experience the silky softness of dune sand in the desert. But I’ve rarely stopped to think about individual grains of sand. Thank goodness, then, for Dr Gary Greenberg, who has put them under a microscope and taken photographs of them magnified hundreds of times.
He says: “When we walk along a beach we are strolling on millions of years of geological and biological history. Each grain of sand is unique, and each has a story to tell. It is a journey into the wondrous landscape of things we do not see with our naked eye. It inspires the human spirit to know that the beauty and the mysteries of our universe are tangible and real, and that our lives are enriched by their presence.”
As you can see in this picture (and see more on Dr Greenberg’s website, sandgrains.com), each grain of sand is like a universe in miniature – little jewels that we tramp underfoot without realising how beautiful they are.
I think that’s a pretty good metaphor for how many of us go about our lives – trudging around, blissfully unaware of the true nature of reality – with (wait for it) our heads in the sand.
We may not be able to see the perfection of a grain of sand with the naked eye, but we have the knowledge that it exists – as so many other things exist beyond our senses.
Each of us is unique, and each of us has a story to tell. We have unseen beauty within us too – that’s why I call this page The Pearl Within. And we might get to see it more often if we dropped our awareness out of our heads and into our hearts.
Try it next time you’re walking in nature. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and imagine you are breathing in and out of your heart. Say quietly to yourself, “I am heart.”
Open your eyes, and see if your perception has changed. Are the colours brighter? The birdsong louder? The smell of grass more aromatic? Fill your senses with this vivid reality called life.
I’ll sign off by quoting from William Blake’s poem Auguries of Innocence, which everyone thinks says the universe is in a grain of sand but in fact,.it goes like this:
To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
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