A. Do we live in a time where practices and traditions converge, exhausting the energy of our sustaining resources? Like the tail of a mammal, it just ends?
B. Do we live in a time of transition; a time between two stages? Is the nature of life a continuing process of decline (dark ages) and advancement (golden ages?)
C. Do we exist in a time of dualities, a fall and rise at once? Like two superimposed cones that spiral together as complementary opposites. World Rivers records this quickening of time in an increasingly small amount of space, this time of dramatic change.

I include a brief portion of a larger pattern, that of the geological history of the earth. I am interested in this topic in connection to water, a natural resource that many predict will be fought over, just as oil is today. I wonder, does the earth have its own larger seasons that civilization cannot record? Do we find ourselves between a winter or spring that is ending and spring or summer beginning? I am not excluding the impact of humans when asking these questions. I bring it up to make mention of natural patterns, all of which we are part of. Will we adapt to the sudden and increasing changes in our environment, evolving further? Regardless, there are prevalent issues arising due to many of our current habits that need both discussion and action; population, food, water and the preservation of the natural resources that sustain our life.

World Rivers will present a unique outlook on the provision of water, our attitude towards it and the changes it is undergoing.

Religions of the world, philosophers, scientists, and artists, past and present, try to explain our condition. I have reverence for all the systems of belief that have sprouted over time driven by specific needs and by curiosity. I am curious. At present, we find ourselves with scientific fields like theoretical and analytical physics, that attempt to explain a larger picture (black holes, worm holes, negative energy and matter) and a smaller view (the 'quanta' of atoms, nuclei, that now incorporate super string theory and DNA). Two views, one small and one large, that have yet to merge to describe all things in a unified way.

World Rivers is about this pivotal time in history; the colliding of our past (old information reexamined) with recent inventions that present new ways of "seeing". The collision of views, big and small, are being presented. Reevaluation and change is a given. New decisions will need to be made. People may be faced with the uncomfortable task of letting go of preconceived notions, a process that requires individual thought.

Why is the individual important?
When reviewing history's true advancements, at the root is an individual's idea. An idea that took great amounts of energy and time (failures before successes) to offer a new perspective to be built upon. I don't make reference to the individual as an infatuation with the importance of ego, the decadency of entertainment, or the pervasiveness of competitiveness. Rather, I refer to individual will, determination and thought. We have learned that when individuals are pushed into labeled groups we witness problems. Today, labeling vast groups is easy, perhaps simpler for our minds to manage, but it must be resisted.

In today's climate, we must acknowledge, there is an emergence of a new form of individual. Evidence is surfacing from the undertow, below the surface of agitation, where a busyness exists in muffled silence. It is an arena where a person's ego does not need boosting, the attention of an audience is not sought, a statement of purpose is not needed, and awards of validation do not hold worth. There is a genuine connection of people the world over who are thinking on their own, creating solutions to these pressing problems.

World Rivers crosses dividing lines of regions, occupations, languages and beliefs through the participation of individuals. The strength of World Rivers is the individual expression found within the project's theme of water. As our future unfolds, we can learn what issues arise. There is no expectation, but to respond with thoughtfulness to what is submitted over the years.