What makes you move?

About 40 years ago I found a small book. It described tropical fish in the Amazon. I imagined them swimming in the tea colored water. I imagined the dust, the pieces of wood, the plants covered with debris. I never saw pictures of that but my imagination was vivid.

The images that I had in my head lead me to read more, to visit libraries and dig up books that nobody ever opened, to learn Latin names, to learn photography, to try to learn German, to expand my Russian even further, to learn English, to steal glass and to learn to cut it to make my own fish tanks at the age of 11. And eventually to go to college graduating in both Biology and Chemistry.

In America I was part of an aquarium club that lead me to meet many, many interesting people. It created connections that allowed me to help others with personal problems. I partnered in a rare fish import business and imported and sold fish that were not even described by science yet. I witnessed the modern day revival followed by the commercialization and devaluation of the planted aquarium hobby.

I learned that what you love can never be put in words. What we love we can only admire it with eyes wide open – like little kids looking at a butterfly or a blade of grass. Today I know that a child’s imagination is one of the most precious things in this world. That is one of the fundamental forces that makes the world move.

A few tiny fish on the background of dusty wood and leaves.