The pure centre

Ever noticed how preoccupied a lot of people are about finding the centre of something? The heart of the city, the centre of controversy, the golden age of....whatever.

I think it's the same sort of thinking that leads to the false search for purity. What drives my mother to be obsessively clean. What drives Buddhists to achieve enlightenment. I once overheard a couple of backpackers commenting on a rainforest walk at Cape Tribulation: "the forest, it's just so pure...". Okay, so I shouldn't demolish an aesthetic reason to love the bush, but purity and the bush doesn't sit right with me. The bush is the most dirty cauldron I can think of. Particularly rainforests, with their massive biodiversity.

Later, after returning to Melbourne, I heard this: "I wouldn't worry about the bushfires, it just cleans up the bush...". I only thought of a good retort later, as is always the case with good retorts. "That's like saying world war II was good for cleaning humanity." Depends on your point of view, I guess, but at least those of us who care know that two major fire events in 3 years is not healthy.

Oh well, at least those humans attracted to the idea get their fix of bush purity. Not that they'll visit it of course, it's far easier to pontificate from afar.

I'm not sure where this drive comes from -- perhaps part of the origin question, perhaps natural reductionism. My head doesn't spit out a clear trend on this one...