Don’t You Love Watching Ripples?

My house sits close to the entrance of a huge natural reserve area. Every day, I take a short walk around a small pond five minutes from my house, if the weather permits. Don’t underestimate how many creatures the pond has been called home to — bass, catfish, turtles, and sea snakes to name just a few.

In particular, I have a special connection to an adult heron who always quietly stands by the side of the pond and meditates deeply. It is a tall heron and stands out in every way. It has a very proud look as if it purposely chose to show off its elegant body to all eyes that can see. It does not enjoy any company. I’ve learned that the minute I walk too close to his social boundary, he will open its huge wings and gracefully fly across the pond to the opposite side. He never spends the night at the pond but comes often enough during the daytime for us to build an unseen yet sweet connection.

I love the pond and the power of tranquility that washes over me every day.

Today, its water ripples catch my eye.

You wouldn’t know how much I treasure the ups and downs that glide gently across the calm water surface. I treasure them not only because of how they blend into the sereneness of the pond but also because I know about the physical laws that underlie this seemingly simple phenomenon.

I am not going to “bore” you with physics today, even though physics is never boring to me. Poetic words do burst out in my brain as I watch the ripples move today, and I simply want to let those words fly.

Why are ripples attractive?

- Well, because they are beautiful. Ripples are the result of water waves traveling in all directions with the same speed; that’s why ripples are always perfectly symmetrical. No matter where you look, or which direction you are facing, your eyes will meet the perfect symmetry that nature creates with such ease. You won’t find perfect symmetry in trees or clouds, but in ripples, so treasure them.

- Well, because they reflect how closely individuals are connected to each other. There will be no water waves if water molecules are not bonded together. You can identify the pond as one single entity, not trillions of individual separate molecules because they share common bondings. They are closely connected, not too close that it becomes solid and every individual loses their freedom, but not too loose that they fly apart and the unity is destroyed. There will be no ripples if water molecules don’t know how to connect in such a harmonious way that any small disturbance will be short-lasting, and gracefully fades into thin air.

- Well, because of their steadiness. Ripples move out from the center at a very steady yet comfortable speed. My eyes love to follow the outward motion of the ripples’ edge; the steady movement is very calming to me. The upward and downward motions and the steady wavefront nicely fit into a piece of music known only to me. The comfortable speed is a stark contrast with the fast pace of human activities which I often find suffocating. I appreciate how nature reminds me of the art of no hushing and going steadily with a comfortable speed toward my goal.

- Well, because they are small disturbances that are resolved elegantly. Ripples come from disturbances, say a fish catching its prey close to the water surface. The disturbance gradually spreads out, affecting the neighboring water molecules. Yet, as the disturbance is shared, ripples form and at the same time, the magnitude of the disturbance goes down, until it eventually vanishes. Ripples are nature’s way of resolving a conflict, healing a wound, and moving forward from a painful memory. Ripples invite their audience to watch and bystanders to look because it is an elegant illustration of what resilience is. So do watch, learn, and become wise.

Why not step outside for a walk now, observe, and learn from nature?

This story was first published on Medium.