Still Here. Still Good.

I watched Project Hail Mary recently and I walked away with something I didn’t expect. I don’t want to be anywhere else but here. On Earth. Which is kind of funny, because I feel like we’ve all pretty much agreed that Earth used to be better, and that it gets worse every day. At least that’s what I hear all the time.

Food was tastier. Coke was better. The ocean was cleaner and even bluer. People were kinder.

But if every generation feels that way, shouldn’t this place be a complete disaster by now? It isn’t. So maybe it’s not Earth that’s changed. Maybe it’s us.

As we age, life just happens and it reshapes how we see everything. Sometimes life beats us up. We lose our easy, unfiltered way of experiencing things that we used to have when we were younger. We start noticing what’s wrong instead of what’s right. Before we know it, the past feels perfect and right now feels like a downgrade.

But what if nothing got worse? What if we’re just experiencing it differently? 

For me, the ocean has always been my reset.
The second I’m near it, everything softens and grounds me. It’s still magic. And even though it’s not the exact same ocean of my childhood, my feeling about it is still there. 

Maybe that’s the point of Earth Day. To notice the good, to see what’s still here.

I’m trying something different. Less of “it used to be better.” More of “this is good right now.”