10/11/2026
There’s an intelligence in the Earth beyond our comprehension. We will never be able to understand her most complex workings, never de-code the immense vitality that can lie dormant in an acorn for years before bursting into creation. There’s a great humility in this. I wish I could take a walk through this forest with a billionaire who sincerely believes artificial intelligence can solve the world’s ills, who thinks ease and automation equal human flourishing, who demands ‘creativity’ at the touch of a button. I would say, observe the natural world and you will see that creativity cannot be rushed. Stand next to an oak that took 250 years to grow and is still growing. Watch the seasons change and understand the cyclical nature of all things. Lean into periods of rest and renewal and you will shatter your internal illusions of infinite growth. You can afford to eat in any restaurant in the world but when was the last time you ate an apple straight from the tree, feet on the earth, all senses activated + mind quiet enough to actually taste it?
When you consume, endlessly, voraciously, does it ever truly satisfy? Do you want to live in a world where artists, musicians and authors are replaced by algorithms and creativity is mass produced? Have you seen what mass production has done to our food system? To our environment? To our attention spans? To the physical + mental health of humanity? It isn’t too late, for you or life itself, I promise. Walk along this river bank with me, let the Earth hold your ignorance with the same love she extends to all things, shed tears for your vanity, see them vanish in River’s flow, salt water into fresh water, know that they will find their way into the ocean again, know that you are as much a part of it all as River and Oak and Otter and Wren, but no more significant.
