Dear Earth, let’s practice praising.

Let’s praise the man who upset me yesterday, for showing me a corner of myself which is bitter and hurting, and which needs more soft attention.

Let’s praise the battered stalks of kale, stripped naked up to their shoulders, for having spared us some leaves after plumping up several armies of caterpillars.

Let’s praise the horrible stink of meat in this vegan household which gives our cats life, and the succession of purring visitors who woke me in the night to demand strokes.

Let’s praise the head cold which reminds us how it is to breathe, and which lays us down gently on the verges of our frantic days for a while.

Let’s praise the man who told me your coral reefs aren’t dying, dear Earth, but flourishing – for showing me how fierce my love for you is. So fierce, it frightens me.

Let’s praise the dying that makes room for bright shoots. Let’s praise the scientists who are bringing us terrible news. Let’s praise the concrete cities that show us our best and our worst. Let’s praise the grief that scours us into luminosity.

Let’s see how far our radical praise will reach into the darkness, dear Earth. See how it transforms the ugliest monsters. See how it asks us to expand our bruised hearts. See how it graces us with a bottomless faith.

With gratitude and love, Satya <3