If the Earth were Only a Few Feet in Diameter

If the Earth were only a few feet in diameter, floating a few feet above a field somewhere, people would come from everywhere to marvel at it.  People would walk around it, marveling at its big pools of water, its little pools, and the water floating in between the pools.  People would marvel at the bumps on it and the holes in it, and they would marvel at the very thin layer of gas surrounding it and the water suspended in the gas.  The people would marvel at all the creatures walking around the surface of the ball and the creatures in the water.  The people would declare it precious because it was the only one, and they would protect it so that it would not be hurt.  The ball would be the greatest wonder known, and people would come to behold it, to be healed, to gain knowledge, to know beauty, and to wonder at how it could be.  People would love it and defend it with their lives because they would somehow know that their lives, their own roundness, could be nothing without it, if the Earth were only a few feet in diameter.

Happy Earth Day!

This is an excerpt from a children's book by Joe Miller.  When I was a science teacher, this passage hung on my door every year.  I really love that children get it.  I love their natural curiosity.  I wish we could all stay in tune with our curiosity as adults.  Today is just a reminder of how incredibly fortunate we (and all species) are to live in such a beautiful, nourishing place.   

Also, Google's logo is gorgeous today.