Date: Tuesday December 7th, 11:00AM PST.
Location: Balboa Park, San Diego, CA.
Weather: cloudy, no wind, slightly humid, 17ºC.
(Pretty enjoyable all things considered …back home it’s snowing and the wind chill is… chilly.)
Looking back at my first BCI session, and the way I am now able to be, contemplate, imagine, I have a lot of feelings.
First comes gratitude: despite these being assignments for my class of Biomimetic Design, I believe it has helped me reconnect with nature, nurtured my mental health, and made me spend time outdoors in a meditative state, with no other plans than to be there. I am grateful for the positive results on my well-being that originated from these assignments.
Second is awe. I already thought nature was cool, but now I think nature is badass. Trees are high-tech: they transform matter, transport water, communicate with each other, they make oxygen, but they don’t use nuclear-powered energy. How is this possible? Why don’t we use this technology ourselves? Can we find a way to do it the way nature does? BCIs open the doors to a multitude of design solutions, for free, instantly, in your backyard. No hidden cost, no subscription. Complimentary oxygen included.
Finally, I now notice my awareness. I am aware that I notice.
I don’t have to force it, it just jumps at me. I see the patterns, I imagine the processes. And the consequence of noticing is that I ask myself even more questions than before: why does this cactus have a red line? How does it produce the pigment?
What species of bees live in southern California? Are they in danger? How can we support them?
Do palm trees prefer salty air? Are the palm trees in the desert genetically different from the coastal ones? What makes them so adaptable?
My google search history is so nature oriented that people who don’t know me would think i’m a biologist. Ideally i would say I’m a designer-in-training, and truthfully I am learning from the best designer there is, nature itself.
Nature even got me interested in researching some mathematical concepts. Who would have known I would be one day interested in geometry?!
When you can freely be, contemplate, and imagine, you open the fields of possibilities and let the ideas flow in. As a result, one may find creativity, inspiration, innovation, problem solving, meditation, awareness, joy…
anything can happen!
