Fun With Fibonacci!

A couple of years ago I played around with the Fibonacci numbers with some kids in our home education group, exploring the way they keep turning up all over the place in nature, in what is known as the Golden Ratio. Each new number is the sum of the two previous numbers, so counting from 0...1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21 and so on. Any number in the Fibonacci sequence divided by the one before it gives approx 1.618. Likewise, any Fibonacci number divided by the one right after it gives approx 0.618. This creates a Fibonacci spiral which occurs throughout life.

It's the curve of a snail's shell, the pattern of seeds in plants, pinecones, the curve of a still forming fetus, the curve of the main muscle around the human heart. It is found in seashells, petals on daisies, the pattern of new leaf growth, the curve of an animal's claws, horns or teeth, the way a spider constructs its web.

 The meanders in rivers, the curl of my dog's tail (though sometimes it's difficult to accurately measure these things!)... it goes on and on... This is exciting as I like spirals and always suspected that life was just one big one!

Credit for recognising this pattern goes to Leonardo Fibonacci who was an Italian mathematician in the 12th/13th century, who also introduced the decimal (Hindu-Arabic) system to Europe, replacing the use of Roman numerals.

So anyway, I hadn't thought about Fibonacci for a while until yesterday when someone in the 'Irreverent Haikus' Facebook group I belong to, posted this on the wall:

So today I had a go at writing my first Fibonacci Sonnet! Here it is...

     You. Me. Divine energy. Goddess and god. It is all within us. Even this slug, this stone, this blessed bee! Which stories have we been told and which do we choose to believe? Today a snail died because of me in the hinge of a door and I felt it contract in my heart.
     Today I watched a crow for so long I almost grew feathers myself. Today I painted until I became intense colour. Like the flower I saw. Shining with raindrops. So unashamed. Imperfect. Perfect.

The flower I saw

My son also wrote his first fabulous Fibonacci Sonnet. Here it is...

     Happy. Joyful. I'm free! Running so fast. Wind blowing against my face. Leaving all my worries and troubles far behind. Running far, far, far away from all of my unhappiness, sadness and depression. Millions of possibilities waiting to be set free, and I will soon live them all and then true happiness will reign.
     If you want to know where I'm running to, the answer is this. I don't know and don't at all care! That's what makes it fun! No particular destination! It's amazing! Fun. Inspirational!

We would love to read anyone else's Fibonacci sonnets so feel welcome to share yours in a comment box below! Onward in the spiral...
    
I dedicate this blog post to my friend Chrissy as it's her birthday today and she is living a brave and beautiful spiral •*¨*•.¸¸★♥