I was born to lose myself inside this soft world.

Mindful

by Mary Oliver

Everyday
I see or hear
something
that more or less

kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle

in the haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for —
to look, to listen,

to lose myself
inside this soft world —
to instruct myself
over and over

in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,

the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant —
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,

the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help

but grow wise
with such teachings
as these —
the untrimmable light

of the world,
the ocean's shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?

"Mindful" by Mary Oliver from Why I Wake Early. © Beacon Press, 2005. 

"What is Nature Worth?"

This link does a good job putting the natural world into a perspective that we often take for granted. The author of the article addresses nature's worth simply and profoundly with this paragraph:
"I'm not saying that money should be the main reason for environmental protection; I value nature for purely aesthetic and scientific reasons, over and above economics (although aesthetics and science both have economic value - realized through tourism and R&D). But profit margins are compelling: if you can show that saving forests and wetlands can actually cost us less in the long run than destroying them, it can help build a consensus to enact more constructive environmental policies."

The video shows how much humanity's negative impact is affecting the planet. What will it take to change what we're doing? Where are our priorities? What will be left if we dont change how we live? Let's start showing the world that the Natural World is worth more than we can imagine, and we will all lose if we continue to destroy it!

Take 5 minutes and read the article and watch the clip.