Nature is Round for a Reason…

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Dear Reader:

I had just finished making a banana sandwich and plopped down in front of the television around lunchtime yesterday when a story from the segment “Extreme Homes” on HGTV caught my attention…(especially since I had been working in the garden most of the morning.)

It was about a woman who bought a fairy tale home (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) so, of course, the segment immediately caught my attention. I turned up the television just in time to hear the new owner say that there was not one single square room in the whole house.

In fact the home was built around a redwood tree which acts as the “axle” for the circular rooms. When the owner asked the original contractor why there weren’t square rooms in the storybook cottage…he simply replied ” There are no squares in nature.” 

He went on to explain that this unusual  home was built completely from what nature could offer in its ‘natural’ state…like the ring around the redwood tree…everything is circular…in God’s universe.

I kept chewing away (I was hungry and is there anything better than a peanut butter/mayo banana sandwich?) but I was also digesting that interesting fact which I had never considered before. “There are no squares in nature.”

So after lunch I grabbed my camera and quickly realized the truth in the contractor’s comment. There are no square flowers, bushes (unless you cut the hedge “squarely or rectangularly”), square hanging baskets, square tree trunk rings…everything in nature is round.

One article I discovered on this topic commented that ‘nature is round and humans are square“…meaning narrow-minded when it comes to how we treat nature and also inefficient in the way we construct man-made homes.

Since I am human ( I think)  I must take up for some of us human “rounders“…because as I looked around my deck…every table, every plant stool, every planter was round….then all throughout my garden I had added round lanterns and round decorations throughout…

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As I stared at the latest blooms…more and more circles appeared…

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It is my fondness for circles that made me ask John Lee to make me a fence gate with a moon shaped (cut-out) circle right in the middle….my magic moon gate.

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When it comes to building things man definitely leans towards squares…perfect squares to make him happy…and rectangles while nature keeps circles going ’round and round.’ One does wonder about the implication between “square” humans and “round” nature. Is that why man always seems to be in conflict with nature…trying to force a square object in a round hole?

One respondent to this idea wrote:

…”Trees have rings because they grow from the center, water droplets are round because the attraction holds the molecules together and the sun is round for the same reason. Nothing man-made “grows” or is a force revolving at such great velocity that it would become round over time. Man’s creations must be structured and strong, and the most efficient structure is rectangular.”

Another thought from another reader reminds us:

” A bubble is round because circular and spherical objects are the most efficient forms in the universe. They have no weak points. Look to old Rome. The domes were a pain to construct, but will last for a very,very, long time”

Haven’t we all heard expressions like “The circle of life?”Since God doesn’t make mistakes…there must be a reason why our planet is round, the sun is round, plants in nature are round…and trees have round rings to show their origin and age.

So until tomorrow…If our universe is round…could it possibly be that God wants all of us included in the circle of life that He created for us?..Not cast away in some sharp corner of a square, triangle, or rectangle…but placed right in the middle of His spiritual sphere…loved beyond comprehension? I think so.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Speaking of storybook and fairy tales homes…I introduced little Tinker Bell to the other fairies in the garden…and she was welcomed by one and all…even finding her grandmother…Nana Tinker Bell…with a hug and happy reunion!

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When “Little’ Tinker first arrived…she was rather afraid of Mr. Moon but soon realized he was pretty nice once you got to know him.

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She, even, got to ride the garden bunny with a new friend and finally found her new home inside a sunflower.

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*So see Lucy…Little Tinker made a wise choice to “re-locate” to Boo’s garden…she now is surrounded by family & friends…thanks for sending her down south to us!

IMG_6348 (1)* Yesterday July 24th was Jakie’s 10th month birthday…soon we both will be having a birthday…he will be one year old and I will be….ummm….older.

IMG_6418* Happy Birthday, also, to Linda Carson, my friend, mentor, and guide through this journey called life…helping me through all the obstacles “little c” has thrown at me….thank you Linda.

(Anne and I dropped off flowers and muffins for this special lady!…a benchmark birthday!)

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Eva Cate comes from a long lineage of flower givers…giving flowers to Linda during a chemo session.

 

 

 

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”
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4 Responses to Nature is Round for a Reason…

  1. Janet Bender says:

    Thanks for helping shine light on why I’ve always wanted shrubs trimmed rounded, not flat topped and square. Without knowing it, I have been “at one” with nature all along!

    • Becky Dingle says:

      I like my shrubbery rounded too….great minds think alike…I just had someone do the lawn yesterday and he rounded off my lantana bed and then put circles around many of the garden plants and all the grandchildren’s trees….I loved it! We are drawn to the circle of life aren’t we?

  2. Johnny Johnson says:

    Builders may say that squares and rectangles sre stronger, but if you check out the arch and archway you will find the arch which is half of a circle is the strongest support there is. There are actually thousands up in thousand of arches used in old buildings all over Europe. Even the Roman aqueducts are all built eith arches. Makes me wonder if people of ancient times recognized the circle in nature and used a half circle to form the strongest type support there is. But so true the circle is present eveywhere and I am with you, that is by Gods design! If all homes were round the force of wind would cause less force on a circular object than it would a square or rectangular shape that has a flat surface that force of nature such as wind can catch and punch very forcefully against. Maybe man should have paid more attention to Gods work and followed his design in all we build. But most importantly is the circle thst is not a physical circle but the circle of life. Maybe thats a God’s wink or a reminder that all things in life go in a circle.
    You made me think today and remember thing I have learned at it all comes from our God that put all these circles right under our noses to remind us that there is the all important circle of life. Even the spirals you wrote about are kind of circles without an end, showing us the circle of life is everlasting and eternal! Thank you for bringing these thought to my mind that remind me there is life everlasting and eternal for those to choose to believe in our God, who is everlasting and eternal too! Still love reading you blog, you keep me thinking in the right direction on a daily basis and keep my spirit in high gear! May the circle never be broken as the song says here and in the sky! I believe you we ill have a special place one day Mrs. Dingle!

  3. Becky Dingle says:

    Johnny….what great thoughts…think your comment should be a “continued” post….thank you so much for planting new ideas about architecture in my mind.

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