Sunday, November 30, 2014

Cavernous Contrasts and Consequences

We took a little Thanksgiving trip to the southeast part of this unique state, and I continue to consider the contradicting experiences during that mini-vacation. Since it's been over a year since I last posted, it seems about time to share some thoughts. Clearly, I do not have constant readers actively seeking the next installment, so yearly posts have become the average. Good thing no one is paying me for this.

In two days, we visited and toured two opposite environments that resulted in some philosophical ponderings for me. I am still thinking about the greater meaning of these incongruous episodes.

We prepared for our entrance into Kartchner Caverns by discussing its historical discovery. Sean, our guide (who looked like Paul Rudd), focused on the importance of keeping our oily, dirty hands to ourselves as we traversed the Big Room of the cave. We could not touch anything and even had to walk through a misting system to eliminate lint droppings that we might leave behind. The cave is amazingly preserved, and the message of the tour is conservation. The formations, history and beauty are mesmerizing. Altering them would be tragic. I was in awe of the story behind the discovery as well as the paths people took through the years to maintain what some could have easily destroyed. I was thankful for the experience.

Day two took us to Bisbee, where we toured the Queen Mine. We traveled into the mountain, seeing an unnatural cave. Man had blasted, chiseled and created this cavern in search of ore. The rock sparkled in places and water dripped down the cold walls. Again, I found myself mesmerized, considering the history within those walls. Our guide (an older, former miner) shared horrific and fantastic stories of miners, mules and minerals (yep, I am a big alliteration fan). Immediately, I couldn't comprehend and accept the difference in the message - strip the rock and leave the destruction behind. Endangering the integrity of the rock was only a thought if it affected the safety of a worker or prevented the requisition of the quality ore. Was I wrong to enjoy this concept of ravaging the interior of this mountain?

I considered the consequences and tried to talk to those with me about this contradiction in my mind. I was the only one who couldn't let this stand without some type of resolution. I like both experiences and appreciated both. Kartchner Caverns has historical implications - beauty all should be lucky to stand in front of and witness. Destruction would be a travesty. Millions of years of life and death, growth and change, science and discovery would not exist. Even if we didn't understand the loss, having never observed it, it would be a loss. The inside of the mountain stripped clean would not match that loss. Can I even call it a loss? What good came of the jobs, the ore extracted? Does it even matter that the interior of the mountain doesn't look the way that it did 100 years ago? I find myself still trying to decide. It seems like a balance, an unnecessary one, perhaps, but a balance. We do what we do with this planet, and we all will never agree regarding the best way is to treat it. Instead, we see these contradictions and acknowledge this ultimate symmetry. It seems to me that's all we can expect. For me, it's all I need, even if I cannot fully explain it.