“Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last fish been caught, and the last stream poisoned, will we realize we cannot eat money.”― Cree Indian Prophecy

The heart of the world is not one powered by humans. It is the beat of life, powered by all life. We often forget this, or lately, have disregarded it altogether.

This is the unsung chord. A song that begs to be voiced, and to be heard. The rhythm of life that beats and hums within us all is mirrored by all living things, large and small. Even by the rock, which changes form over eons, finally coming full circle as our bones blend back into the Earth from which they were born.

This is the sphere of life. And we all dwell here.

But our sphere is dying.

I remember why I first began writing seriously, aside from forming ideas of fiction. It was the initial mission of mine to kindly inform and bring awareness to the world of something very important to me. In a word, conservation. That was my mission. To be an advocate for conservation awareness.

Though I initially wrote often about nature, this grew into penning thoughts of heart and mind, and into voicing ethereal and elusive concepts over time. Though, at its heart, the mission remained.

Now, with my south coastal home inundated with oxygen depleted water and toxic algae blooms, I’m once again reminded of why I began, and where it all started.

I see too much horror on the land and in the water. Trash lines the streets, stinking and rotting along the roadside. The efforts of continuous pollution far outweigh any menial conservation efforts, with all being fairly small in scope and poorly funded.

Now I fear we may be reaching the precipice of a new age, one where humans will soon have to drastically adapt to live among a contaminated world.

I only hope I’m wrong.

As I’ve been continually hearing reports of worsening gulf conditions and heavy backwater flooding, I had a conversation with a friend recently. During our talk, I mentioned how humans are simply going to ruin the Earth. His response was simple, and true.

“We’ve already ruined it. Now, we’re killing it.”

Those words have struck me with such truth in a way that I can barely describe.

Our actions hold more weight than any other species on this planet. We are capable of manipulating and reshaping our environment to fit our needs, to cultivate, to modify genetics of plants and animals, and to travel into space.

Yet, we do nothing to prevent the ruin of our home.

As sentient beings, we’ve not thought clearly enough about the consequences of our actions. And even as most people now know the peril of continuing a wasteful and consuming lifestyle, we do not miss a step in keeping our way of life, no matter the cost.

We don’t simply want potatoes. We want mashed potatoes, rich with butter and topped with gravy. We don’t want water, we want Smartwater. Vitamin water, water that “tastes better.”

We want far too much from what we actually need.

We want everything, topped with gravy.

Truly, we don’t even want what we need anymore. We simply just want.

Our lavishness has been made easy, and our lives are “rich” because of it. Yet, the most vulnerable of creatures dwindle in population each year. And during my lifetime alone, the human population has nearly doubled from just over 4 billion to nearly 8 billion.

We are truly reaching the tipping point where balance must be maintained. And, the Earth will maintain its balance.

I only fear as a species we may not be around to witness it.

The time for conservation is now. Not tomorrow. And it is up to all souls to make a change. To make a difference.

It’s just that simple.

Or, just keep it business as usual, and make everything with gravy. At least then we may all die fat and happy.

In the meantime, if we do nothing during our lives to make the world better, then what is our purpose?

I’ll kindly suggest that we find that purpose.

Soon.