I was listening to a Gayatri Mantra chant on YouTube yesterday when this image scrolled by. Not sure if it has been Photoshopped, but seeing the exulting female form expressing in this tree is incredible. Nature never ceases to amaze. It reminded me of Gian Lorenzo Bernini's life-size marble sculpture of Apollo and Daphne (below) which was completed in 1625. As legend has it, Apollo was teasing Cupid who then pricked him with his arrow, causing him to immediately fall in love with Daphne, a water nymph, who devoted to the goddess Diana had vowed to never marry and remain a virgin. Alas, a chase ensued and she prayed to her father the River God to save her. Just as Apollo caught up and touched her, she turned into a Laurel tree. The sculpture depicts the moment of transition, her raised hands and flying hair becoming leafed branches, her torso a trunk and her toes begin to sprout rooting tendrils. Still forever in love, it is said he could feel her beating heart beneath the bark and he imbued the tree with eternal youth. A crown was fashioned from her leaves which later became the symbol of Olympic victories and Roman emperors. Hail Daphne! To listen to Namaste's Gayatri Mantra, click here.
The image appears at the 6:20 mark.
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