A few months ago I moved to Florianopolis, Brazil. A place touted for it’s beaches and nature and good weather…however, it’s been raining probably about 70% of the time I’ve been here.
But I’m not here to complain…I love it!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a beach and sun kinda guy. I can only deal with consistent rain for a week before it starts to wear down on me. I need sunlight in order to be my happiest most productive self. I thrive in the sunshine and I’m in perpetual pursuit of summer.
But all this rain gets me thinking about why I love the rain. Why I appreciate and why I’m grateful for the rain.
I’m not sure if you’ve ever studied astrobiology, or have any understanding of the way that we look for life on other planets, but do you know what we look for when we are searching for life on other planets? Do you know the one thing that we can’t seem to find anywhere in any of the other galaxies we look at?
LIQUID WATER!
Yes, our entire search for interplanetary life is based on the search for liquid water. As far as we know, the primary prerequisite condition for a planet to be able to support life is the existence of liquid water. Put simply, without water there is no life (based on our current understanding of “human” life).
And guess what, WE CAN’T FIND LIQUID WATER ANYWHERE!
Based on all of our searches for other planets, all our explorations of the universe, we’ve never found and confirmed liquid water anywhere else in the known universe. Not a single solitary one.
We’ve found some planets like mars that have ice, we’ve seen (potentially) liquid water under the surface of some of Jupiter’s moons, and we’ve (recently) found a planet that has the correct atmospheric conditions to POTENTIALLY have liquid water… but alas, nope, nothing confirmed just yet.
So let’s get this straight, we can’t find liquid water anywhere else in the known universe, but here on earth that shit FALLS FROM THE FUCKING SKY IN ABUNDANCE!!! Not only that, 80% of the planet is covered in this shit!!!
And yet when it falls from the sky and gives life to all of the plants and systems that support human life we complain about it?! We should be dancing in the streets naked when it rains in celebration of LIFE!!!
Human beings are such ungrateful fucks.
So the next time it rains, SAY THANK YOU! Use it as an opportunity to practice gratitude. To appreciate the abundance that this planet provides for us. To take a moment and think about how much water influences your life. From showers to food to the products that you consume, water is everywhere. How often do we take the time to appreciate and be grateful for water? To contemplate all the ways you use it and need it? To contemplate what life would be like without it?
With the way that the planet is shaping up right now, it’s not absurd to think that in 50-100 years, your relationship with water will be very different than it is today. Water might become the most expensive resource you can get. Clean drinking water could become a rarity and a luxury. Some of your favorite beaches and vacation destinations might literally be submerged underneath water never to be seen again due to rising sea levels.
So take some time to reflect on how much water fuels your life. Take time to actively appreciate it. Don’t take water for granted.
Thank you rain, thank you liquid water, for providing me with life, for sustaining my life, and for being the fundamental building block that drives everything I do. I appreciate you. You are seen and acknowledged on behalf of me and my fellow humans. We love and appreciate you and thank you for all that you provide.
Ahow haux haux haux 😉
