Fantastic! My thoughts as well. I’ve always said that I just want to be sat against the base of a tree in the woods. Any tree will do.

Years ago I discovered a band called Poi Dog Pondering. Ever heard of them? Many of their songs are about embracing the cycle and dance of life and death. Not just embracing but celebrating it. I can’t help but smile and dance when I’m listening.

I can’t help but think that were we to embrace our finite time on the planet we might celebrate life a bit more. It reminds me of Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot. We are, all of us, together on this little sphere and we get to circle our star a few dozen times. We’re tiny on the planet which is tiny in the solar system which is tiny in the galaxy and so on. Sigh.

When I was young I was a raging anarchist. At 47 I’m still an anarchist. I want social justice and a society of humans that live lives that sustain and enrich the eco-communities around them. I want community and cooperation. I don’t know if we’ll get there. In the mean time I suppose I’ve found a certain level of peace with the tiny life I lead and the very real possibility that I won’t see the world I hope for. But the “end” for me is the same regardless. My body will decay and feed the life around me. Life will go on. The atoms of my body will continue their dance in the cosmos in countless new forms. As has been said by many, not only do we in the universe, but the universe is in us. We are all (human, non-human, living or not) connected in time and space and this human can’t help but smile at the thought.