There are some who say that the Earth itself is a creature and that every living thing on it makes up a portion of her body. Just as all the individual cells in our body cooperate to form each one of us, so too do all the living organisms on the Earth cooperate to form her. It's strange and unnerving to think of yourself as a mere cell. We all know that at any given moment we can give up several of our own bodily cells to death and not even notice it. Following that logic, it would mean that if several of us died, possibly even large populations, the Earth would not even notice it. This thought makes us feel small, unimportant, and even unwanted. However, that is the wrong way to think about it. While it is true that none of our bodies are reliant on any single cell, the conglomeration of our cells makes us into an extremely unique and unrepeatable person. If this is true, it is also true that while the Earth is not reliant on any single one of us, the conglomeration and especially cooperation of all of us makes us into one whole, extremely unique, unrepeatable planet. We would do well to remember this.
So as I sit here on this day and look at this very unique sky and cloud formation, I am aware that I will never see quite the same sky patterns again. They are unique, like me. They are more fleeting than me, and yet they continue on in different patterns. When I am gone, others will continue on in different patterns. People will come and go, of course, but there will never be another you or me exactly as we are now. We are unique, and because of that, we are necessary and we are wanted. And maybe, just maybe, we are even loved.
