albedo

So how much light do you reflect?

For a long time my intent has been to write about nature. i wanted to consolidate collecting bird data over the months into a poem with permanence. Instead of actually writing the poem a list of words developed in my journal this week.

convert
modify
transform
deviate
shift
ripen into through rebellion
change

i opened the Thesaurus to page 147 on one of those fluky i'll just open the book times.
VII jumps out at the top of the page followed by the word Change.

Hmm thinks i. i have been inundated with C's everywhere. Since the century plants curvy stalk first appeared in August i have believed the C to stand for change.

But what change?

It was a little too eerie having my list end with the word change then going to the Thesaurus and randomly opening the book to the word change but it is something i'm getting used to.

The other night i was on line reading some essay when the word albedo appeared. i wasn't sure of the exact definition so i looked it up on line, then went to bed almost immediately. i tucked myself under the covers and picked up my book. i opened the book at my bookmark and the first sentence i read used the word albedo to describe the white veins that run around the outside of a peeled orange.

Too weird thinks i at the time. Two albedo's coming one right after the other. Some would call that coincidence but it happens too frequently in my life to continue ignoring it. i pay attention to these "coincidence's" now and try to act upon them.

For days i have been thinking about the word albedo and how i could use it here. In many ways "albedo" and the word "change" go together.

Albedo is the ability of an object to reflect light from the sun. The darker an object is the lower its albedo. Black has an albedo of 0 while white has an albedo of 1, in between the two extremes lies a whole range of reflective objects. White sand, white clouds and snow reflect more than dark forests or dark ground.

In astronomy one type of albedo is called the V band or the geometric albedo (measuring brightness when illumination comes from directly behind the observer).


Many times, after we have discovered facts that were apparent in the past but over looked or ignored, we use that past information to change our perspective. Often we don't understand how our values are modified or really think we have changed much but we do recognize a shift when it occurs.

Its really easy to understand how using light in terms of change has followed mankind through out religious and recorded history. Everywhere light is used to represent change.

We are all observers, deflectors and receivers of light. So could it be that the illumination we see coming from behind us helps us change what lies ahead of us? Since we are also receivers and deflectors of reflected light do those that decide to change as a result of different information become the new Speakers of the 21st Century? The world is constantly changing and this next century could just be the catalyst that puts war away and allows conflict to flare without violence.

i'm using my albedo to encourage all humanity to consider the benefits that would accrue if we committed ourselves daily to understand that conflict is inevitable but violence is not.

We all have the ability to use our albedo's for change, how much light are you reflecting today?