My dear friend leads a small group of us in meditation on Thursdays. Today she shared a poem - Everything is Waiting for You by David Whyte - which included the line All the birds and creatures of the world are unutterably themselves.

I have often thought how sad it is that so many life forms are born, eat, reproduce, and die, often in a matter of hours. What is the sense in that? To exist only to create another you that will last another day.

But today it dawned on me that it isn't senseless. Every creature serves and participates in the ecosystem. Every creature keeps Gaia in balance.

Except humans I would normally say. Those traits which separate us from the animal kingdom are too often the same traits that drive us to create imbalance in the delicate systems that make up our planet.

But also humans. Embodied as we are, we are also just as much a part of the ecosystem as the birds and the bees. And the turtles.

So as long as we are on Earth, we have a very basic purpose. To serve and be nurtured by our planet.

And if this is all you do with your time here, that's okay.

And if you want to do more, what impact do you really want to have?

Until next time, fly safely.

The Alchemist