green from our pinion-juniper forests and blue from crystal clear skies that change with evening purple shadows to starry cobalt nights. This visual cornucopia of color is a never ending source of inspiration for artists, local residents, and visitors alike.
In our arid landscape water can never be far from our minds. Water is more than just habitat and sustenance for life. Water has shaped our earth, evolution, physiology, cultures and our religions. Abundant water is associated with peace and prosperity; lack off water is synonymous with death.
Our ancestors believed the world consisted of earth, air, fire and water. But water is in many ways the most important since it shapes earth, is carried on the wind, and extinguishes flames. Sedona’ s spectacular red rocks were primarily formed under shallow seas some 240 to 340 million years ago and are now visible largely because of water erosion. Our monsoon rains blowing in from southwesterly oceans are critical in keeping Oak Creek and neighboring streams in the Verde Valley flowing. Our firefighters, of course, necessarily rely on water to extinguish our annual forest fires. Most religions rely on water as a symbol to confirm beliefs and / or to provide a ritual cleansing of the soul.
Water sustains us in the most basic sense, but it also stimulates us. We
as explorers have always wondered where a stream begins and ends, who lives across the bay, what lies just beyond the horizon. As scientists we wonder about the bonding of hydrogen and oxygen to form the heart of water’ s special nature. As biologists we look beneath the surface to view a myriad of exotic life. And water makes philosophers of us who see the world reflected in water. Shakespeare said,“ smooth runs the water where the brook is deep.” Henry Thoreau wrote about lakes:“ It is the earth’ s eye, looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.” When we allow our minds to reflect, water can have a profound effect on
Photo: Wib Middleton
12 IMAGINE l FALL 2016