Life of the Earth

There’s something about streams…rivers…waterfalls. Nothing really compares to the feeling one gets while walking along a riverside, or relaxing on their grassy shore. It’s the height of melancholy, but I can’t pinpoint what it is that gives that feeling. Perhaps the soothing sound of the water rushing or trickling by. Perhaps the comforting shade often provided by the overlooking trees. Or perhaps it is the feeling of the water itself; the life of the earth, existing through all its past and well into the future, spreading itself across the planet and providing the source for any existence.

Perhaps the melancholy it inspires is due to it providing an unconscious understanding of our miniscule existence. While one dips their toes in the chilly riverside, or simply lies back listening to the water trickle past the rocks, it is hard to worry over the everyday concerns. Because while our lives hold meaning in the present, they are nothing to the life of the earth. The epic, interminable existence of the earth cares little for our careers or social life. And as you close your eyes, listen to the rush of life flowing next to you, this is comforting. For whatever destruction and misery our lives may hold, this beauty will live on.