Thank you for this beautiful, thought-provoking essay.

I recently held my mother’s hand while she died. Then, I sat with her for some time afterwards, talking to her, kissing her. This experience was both horrifying and beautiful— as you say, sublime.

Earth is my mother, too, and if it becomes absolutely clear that she is dying, I will sit with her also.

But I still have hope for Earth. As anyone who has seen a cactus growing on a rooftop or a tree growing up thought the pole of a stop sign knows, her regenerative powers are astounding.

It would have harmed my mother to try to keep her alive artificially when she was, at the age of 93, ready to pass away. However, any efforts we make to support the Earth’s regenerative powers will not harm her. And those efforts will help to heal us. I intend to keep planting trees.