Life is a circling swirl of attempts and failures. Positive and negative impacts are tied to our thoughts and actions. Feelings toward this tumultuous process are explored in Macrophage Denied.

Empathize with the tiny macrophage, a lung cell that engulfs intruders in a quest to clean our air. For years the macrophage has faced frustration when encountering asbestos particles. These human engineered items are too large to swallow. In the wake of repeated failure, tissues become enflamed and gradually contort, rebel. Cancers grow. Our policies were slow to accept the need for change, but we now stand from a viewpoint, pointing to the past, calling asbestos flawed. Lawyers call for clients, "if you've been a victim of asbestos induced lung cancer, call us..."

Yet even from this vantage point, we flawed humans are called again to repeat our mistakes. Recent research indicates that our new foray into nanoparticles need heed earlier lessons learned. By engineering particles a bit longer than found in nature, we once again thwart our friend and companion the macrophage. Will we ever learn? Must we once again face the human costs of short sightedness?

I hope you enjoy reflecting with this piece. I see beauty in the chaos, and an overwhelming feeling of the crash of waves. Surging forward to reach the sky, and falling again and again to the whim of gravity.