Counterpoint

All over the world, people are suffering; the natural world is collapsing; politicians are inept and corrupt; everything everywhere pretty much sucks.

Except:

• Public libraries are wonderful.  They provide education, entertainment, solace, and community; we all ought to celebrate them every day.
• Bicycles rock.  Humanity’s most noble invention, as Grant Peterson says, “a rideable work of art that just might save the world.”
• A tomato sandwich on toasted white bread with mayonnaise and pepper is summer in a meal; perfect.
• Lake Washington, even though vastly appreciated, is vastly underappreciated as a civic amenity; being able to lounge on its shore and swim in its depths for free is an unbelievable luxury, available to all.
• Going barefoot is how humans were meant to live; bare feet on soft grass is a bit of heaven on earth.
• Bumblebees are beautiful, hard-working, and don’t fuck around.  When they’re gone, we’re gone, too.
• Poetry.  Words can make you cry; that’s incredible.
• Music.  Vibrations of the air can make you cry; that’s staggering.
• The vastness of the Universe is impossible to comprehend and that’s a very good thing.
• Sneezing is kind of delightful; it’s also amusing when you do so in public and some random person wishes you “gesundheit.”
• Genuine kindness, even in tiny bits, isn’t so bad.  I saw a girl reach over and tuck her friend’s shirt tag back in without even being asked; that was very sweet.
• Photosynthesis might be nature’s number one hit; respiration, transpiration, reproduction, all great, but converting sunlight and water to energy is tough to top.
• Don’t discount recreational sports; millions of people all over the world have had some of the most fun times in their lives kicking or hitting or chasing balls with their friends; it’s silly and mundane, but so are humans, so there.
• An afternoon nap is balm for so many of the world’s troubles; a mid-morning one works, too.
• Oh.  And surely best of the best: the sun.  Thanks for everything.