everything that grows

When we think about the circularity of life, there are certain small but mighty players that cannot be left out of the picture. Without them there is no life and no harmony. They are the reason destruction is followed by growth instead of more destruction, and if we are willing to listen, they can teach us a whole lot about how we can turn the disruption caused by man into rejuvenation and revival, instead of leaving us in ruins.

If you have ever wondered how boiling magma that cools down to become a vast landscape of seemingly hostile and rough lava, turns into an island overgrown with plants and life, it is through the magic of these microorganisms. I have become particularly fascinated with fungi, bacteria and algae. In a way they are transformers, catalysts for life to emerge and thrive. What they have in common is that they take something from their surroundings and turn it into something else, like nutrients for other life forms.

This summer I have been surrounded by lava. My home is in the middle of a lava field and it is fuelling my adoration of moss and everything that grows on lava. From lichens to birch trees and small bushes, flowers, wild berries and mushrooms, and all the other life forms that call this environment their home.

It reminds me of the relationship between the opposites. Living and non-living things not only co-exist but need each other. Everything is interconnected.