The Earth is Beautiful
Originally published on theimperfectnaturalist.wordpress.com on April 22, 2024
The school hallways are dim, not pitch black. It's mid-morning on a bright, cool, and breezy April day, but the two-story building's shoebox shape—supported by a series of smaller boxes that make up classrooms—is designed in a way that blocks the classroom's large windows. But the hallways and classrooms are dark due to the school's commitment to turning off unnecessary lights for one hour in honor of Earth Day.
Later, with the fluorescent lights back on overhead, we cut construction paper to make small, two-dimensional Earth models. On the back, we write a few words about how to protect the planet. These little art projects hang for the rest of the week before we take them home. Most will likely end up in the recycling bin or trash.
This is one of my earliest memories of celebrating Earth Day as a child. We learned a lot about pollution and the appropriate ways to recycle. We even picked up trash in the playground and ball fields. Then, we never really revisited the topic.
Every April, we're reminded that we live on a planet called Earth. For a whole day, every person, brand, media agency, business, and so on, wishes us a Happy Earth Day and tells us how to live more sustainably. Then, by the end of the day, it seems like they go to bed and wake up the next morning having completely forgotten everything they said 24 hours earlier.
However, I don't believe every message you receive today about planetary commitment is inherently false or greenwashing (though many are). But it's not enough to only think this way for 12 hours a year and not act on it the rest of the time.
We get too caught up in what we should be doing on Earth Day that we forget to actually go out and appreciate Earth itself. So, while climate change is the most important fight for our planet's life, we can't forget to appreciate why we're fighting for it.
Take a minute or 60 to step outside and look up at the blue sky or the stars hanging suspended there. As you do, don't think about all the sustainable products you should buy or the litter on the side of the road. Simply be present in the moment, taking in what you see and hear. Then, tomorrow when you wake up, don’t forget about what you saw and re-join the fight with vigor.
The Earth is the most beautiful thing you'll ever see. Whether the skies are blue or not; the stars are dim or bright; the tree quaking in the wind; the birds chirping outside your window. Star at the sea and imagine the life teeming beneath it's frothy capped waves. Consider the snow that refuses to melt settled and cold on mountains. See your neighbor's garden? Mark the colors and try to learn the flower and vegetable names. Anything you see and observe about our planet will draw you closer to it.
That connection is more meaningful than a construction paper cut out because it's one you won't discard.
At least, that's the goal.