019. Seeing wonders in a broken world
A short message of optimism, hope and joy on Earth Day
While I was deep cleaning my house a couple weeks ago, a catchy song I had never heard before started playing on my YouTube music mix.
As I listened to the lyrics, the words made me pause mid-scrub and turn up the volume.
I see wonders, wonders in a broken world
Hidden under-, under-, underneath the dirt
Wonders, wonders in a broken world
Tell me, do you see what I see?
…
So deep in doubt
And I know just how you feel in that place
But take a look around
There's a million little sparks of a golden age…
Full lyrics here.
It’s called “Wonders” by Michael Patrick Kelly. And I’ve probably played it 100 times since I first heard it.
It resonated with me so strongly because it doesn’t gloss over pain, fear and despair — all of which are very real in today’s world. It simply reminds us that there are equally so many glimmers of hope and joy everywhere, if you’re willing to look for them.
In fact, it instantly reminded me of one of my favorite quotes (I love it so much that it’s on my “inspiration” notebook):
I felt like this song could really be the official anthem for anyone doing work in the circular economy or sustainability — a fight song for my fellow persistent optimists who can see the “sparks of a golden age” in the midst of ever-increasing challenges and conflict.
So on this Earth Day, I want to share some of the amazing wonders of our planet that fill me with joy in a seemingly broken world.
I hope they’ll inspire you to focus on the goodness and the opportunity all around us — and most of all, to appreciate the Earth for all its stunning glory (today and every day).
Note: All photos are my own.
In closing, I want to leave you with another hopeful and inspiring message from a slightly more peculiar source: two brave little hobbits who faced their own version of a broken world.
These words have similarly stuck with me since I first heard them two decades ago (from “The Lord of the Rings, Return of the King”).
FRODO: I can’t do this, Sam.
SAM: I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?
But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t. Because they were holding on to something.
FRODO: What are we holding on to, Sam?
SAM: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.
Truer words have never been spoken — by hobbit nor human.
May we never give up on protecting this special place we call home and all its magnificent wonders. They are worth fighting for.
Happy Earth Day! 🌎
Jenny