Every time I read the words of Willow Defebaugh, I feel hope.
As humans, we are not separate from that.
The cover ofThe Overview: Meditations on Nature for a World in Transition.
Willow Defebaugh photographed in Prospect Park, 2023.
We grow imperfectly, incompletely, she writes.
What could I learn from butterflies about how beautiful and brutal metamorphosis can be?
But Im grateful for it.
The cover ofThe Overview: Meditations on Nature for a World in Transition.
My mother instilled in me a great sense of wonder for the world when I was a kid.
This isnt to say Defebaughs professional trajectory unraveled in a straight line.
Indigenous science has always included the spiritual in so many different cultures and traditions.
Photo: Justin J Wee
Her ability to break free from the trap of binary thinking and instead embrace nuance is particularly refreshing.
I think a lot about H.G.
Wells, who famously said, Natures inexorable imperative is adapt or perish.
I have felt and lived how much awaits on the other side of fear, she says.
I wish that we could see how beautiful it could be.
The Overview: Meditations on Nature for a World in Transitionis available now from Atmos.
