Mushrooms and Arches

The formation of Star Gap Arch involved the collaboration of fundamental forces lasting hundreds of millions of years.

The ebbs and flows of the top are remnants of a sea older than the earliest Appalachian mountains, and it tells a story of life before it could even comprehend its own existence. The compaction of minerals 300 million years ago resulted in the development of the Corbin Sandstone that coats Eastern Kentucky like a blanket of history- a snapshot of Earth from eons ago.

This arch is well-known. It has been known since the earliest of Adena cultures and will continue to be known for many years to come. It’s just obscure enough to avoid the hustle and bustle that comes with being popular. The arch’s sisters nearby know this all too well. The tragedy of beauty and popularity is a loss of freedom that’s ill-defined but present nonetheless.

For me, arches are a symbol of balance. The delicate balance between life and death, and the perseverance of life to exist in any place it can. I think about the white-haired goldenrod – an unlikely species that has the simple goal of perseverance. Humans like to believe that we are the most stubborn and dedicated species on Earth. Far from it. Life on this planet had already existed for billions of years before humans came around a few hundred thousand years ago. We’re not even young enough to be considered children. We’re just along for the ride.

One day this arch will lose its balance. The forces that brought it here will take it away- piece by piece until the arch is no more – a cycle of birth and rebirth.

Cycles dominate and will continue to dominate our planet. Environmentally and societally it feels like we are approaching the end of many cycles, while beginning many others. The products of their time are best suited to what brought them about in the first place, and the conditions which brought all of us about are changing each day.

But life perseveres. You could say it… finds a way.

This arch will lose its balance and we will probably not be here to witness it. In its destruction, homes and habitats will be lost- completing the cycle to begin again. What will replace it is unknown, but its beauty will be unparalleled- stable and balanced – only to be turned back to dust after it has served its time just like we all must do when it is our time to go.