Imagine Who We Can Be – Brave Enough to Be the Light
“When the day comes, we step out of the shade,
Aflame and unafraid.
The new dawn blooms as we free it,
For there is always light,
If only we’re brave enough to see it,
If only we’re brave enough to be it.”
Amanda Gorman spoke those words from her poem “The Hill We Climb, an Inaugural Poem for the Country” on January 20, 2021, at the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Today, just two days shy of Earth Day 2025, these words are more poignant and powerful than ever!
How can we be brave enough to be the light as so much of what we value is threatened at every turn?
But…
“The world is still stuffed with astonishments beyond our wildest imagining.” Aimee Nezhukumatathil shared those words written by Brian Doyle in her amazing book World of Wonders, In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments.
She continued, “Isn’t that the most alluring sentence ever? Isn’t that the sentence we should have pinned up on every bathroom mirror in the world, so we all see it first thing in the morning every blessed day?”
Nezhukumatathil invites us to look around “…just about every hurt we see in the news is caused by a person’s lack of imagination, a lack of curiosity about their fellow human beings, a lack of wonder.”
If we look for the wonder and awe in the world, how might we be brave enough to be the light?
The Nature Conservancy is one organization that is brave enough to see the light and be the light. The current issue of its magazine features articles about people around the world who are taking brave actions every day to preserve life on our planet. These articles feature an Oregon research project that has launched a global groundwater study, people in Norfolk, England who are restoring rare chalk rivers that can help people and nature, scientists who are boosting the adaptability of Appalachian forests as they are impacted by climate change, a kelp farm run by Shinnecock women that is helping to clean the waters off Long Island, and how adding 8,000 trees to a Louisville neighborhood has made a difference in the health of the people who live there.
Reading these articles has provided me with a respite from news of the daily efforts to destroy our democracy. To support the work of The Nature Conservancy, I am making a small donation on behalf of every person whose birthday I celebrate this year.
To celebrate Earth Day 2025, I invite you to be brave enough to be the light and embrace the wonder of this amazing planet by making a donation to The Nature Conservancy.
Imagine what is possible if we are brave enough to be the light!
