Tuesday February 6th, 2050
Dear Diary,
I woke this morning with gratitude for the warmth of sun beams casting through my windowpane. I am still in bed having immediately grabbed my dream journal to document such vivid imagery from the night. There was a sense of heartbreak and nostalgia in the dream world that I’ve just departed. I was reliving the year 2024. I was only a child then, naïve and hopeful. Our beautiful world during that time had been destined to fall victim of human abuse and neglect. We were experiencing the height of human domination, and our environment was the damsel in distress. The extraction of natural resources, the emphasis on capitalist America, and the greed of humanity had generated a climate crisis. Global temperatures were on the rise, mass land degradation, animal extinctions, droughts and severe natural disasters were only some of the results of our climate abuse. So many of us back then saw a way out, we believed that we could collectively begin to heal the Earth. I remember enrolling in school to study and learn as much as I could. Education was the first step towards understanding what role I could play in improving our world. Meditation became a part of my daily practice so that I could respond to life through a clear and compassionate lens. My education and mindfulness practices eventually led me to adopt a vegan lifestyle, lessen my travel, and shop second hand. I am grateful that I transformed my life by making these small changes so that I am able to live in the world I reside in today. I began to educate others and become a philosophy professor. I taught my students that a compassionate perspective and an abandonment of greed will transform our world. Today I wake up 26 years later in a world that prioritizes global sustainability. Factory farming no longer exists. Human behavior is rooted in compassion. The capitalist industry now reuses and resells. The exploitation of resources has ended. We have done it, and now I sit in gratitude for the future generations that will continue to nurture and participate in a mutually beneficial relationship with our Mother Earth.
-Lizzie Jones