263 / A Two Worlds Picture

This picture of Machu Picchu was taken with my iPhone on my recent visit.

As I was posting the photo, I suddenly realized that it perfectly reflects the Inca's appreciation of what I have been calling the "Two Worlds Hypothesis."

"Our" world, the one we build, is built "within" the world of Nature, which contains it. One of the reasons that Machu Picchu resonates with us so strongly, I believe, is that the entire site is constructed to reflect and echo the natural forms of the place in which it has been located. In this picture, you can see how its overall lines are congruent with and extend the natural lines of the topography. In detail, as you visit Machu Picchu in person, almost every view is so constructed that the built environment refers to, and reflects, and harmonizes with the surrounding setting.

To "do it right," as we build "our" world, we must reflect and respect the natural world, upon which, in the end, we utterly depend.

Image Credit: 
Gary Patton personal photo