Upwelling
For some strange reason, this is one of the few scientific terms I actually remember from my middle school Earth Science classes. Why, you ask, did this word stick? Who the hell knows? But for those of you that don’t remember this term from the good old days of Bunsen burners and test tubes, I’ll give you a wee refresher:
Upwelling: the movement of nutrient rich water from the dark depths up towards the surface. There are several different variations of upwelling, but this natural occurrence is usually related to surface winds.
Perhaps stranger than the fact that I’ve had this term zip-locked in my brain for two decades is the fact that it comes to mind almost weekly these days. As I look around at the ripple effect of the economic crisis, witnessing the slow filtration into every facet of people’s lives, the process of upwelling takes shape on land. The surface winds of a very real widespread struggle dislodge the foundations we all rely on, and we scramble to hold onto what little remains available…or affordable. Boutiques are closing in every corner of Seattle. Friends are either feeling grateful for their once shitty jobs, while others are counting the days until they get axed. For some of them, that day was yesterday.
And so, we find ourselves floating in unfamiliar waters. Rougher, cooler, darker waters. The sun barely penetrates the surface, and new, strange creatures have risen up from the depths. What are we to do? Well, if the principle of upwelling holds true on land as it does in the sea, we greet the dark, and trust that much needed nutrients lurk within it. The comfortable day-to-day that most of us have enjoyed up until recently unfortunately brought complacency, materialism, and a lack of accountability.
So, perhaps nutrients in this scenario just refers to basic necessary ingredients for resuscitating an ailing community. Treating your own injuries. Helping your neighbor. Understanding that what you do matters. Caring about where things are made and how they’re made. Spending the money you do have wisely rather than spending money you don’t have unwisely. Dark, strange goings on can bring people together in a way nothing else can, so maybe when the next upwelling comes along, you’ll dive a little deeper and see what kind of good stuff you can find.
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