The way of the Dodo

I am using a lot of the pictures I took during my recent visit to the Natural History Museum. But apart from the big impression the visit had on me, circumstances sometimes make the use of them relevant. You have recognized on this picture the Dodo, a bird that is now of course extinct, maybe the most famous extinct bird. It is of course a model, not even a stuffed one. Still, seeing this them through the glass was still impressive. Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Ash Wednesday always reminds me of this saying: "Memento homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris." (Remember, O Man, that you are dust, and to dust you shall return). I always loved the honesty of its statement (a very rare thing in Catholic liturgy) and I was looking for a Memento Mori to illustrate it today, but in a secular fashion. The Dodo came to my mind immediately as it represents the mortal nature not only of us as individuals, but as a species.