Or Hummingbirds...

Dostoyevsky wrote that the earth will be saved by beauty. I believe it, but I'm not convinced humans will be here to see it.

Humanity may be a brief and furious experiment. The planet may sparkle more clearly without us. Consciousness may realize itself through some other species with far less violence and melodrama: dolphins perhaps, or hummingbirds...

I do know this. In the little time I have left to taste earth's beauty, I will not be anxious. I will not be outraged. And I will try with all my soul not to whine. We waste far too much energy doing that, whether in the name of politics or prayer.

Instead, I vow to savor this breath, to rest my mind in the heart, and to radiate love like a simple-minded flower.



Art by Martin J. Heade