Why Are You Grateful for Earth Day? Please Share.

It's Earth Day today, a day when as many as a billion people around the world will be taking notice.   Some will be celebrating what they love about the world we live in with walks in the woods, picnics with families and friends, neighborhood clean-ups, poetry readings, and just some quiet time outside. Others will be sounding the alarm about threats that could undermine this one earth on which we all live, pointing to climate change, air and water pollution, deforestation, toxic chemicals, and more.

 For me, Earth Day is a time to reflect on what I am grateful to Mother Nature for. Here's my "short list."

* I'm grateful for the abundance of inspiring flowers and trees that add beauty to the world.

* I'm grateful for the planet's soul-expanding wild places and the chance they provide to experience Nature in the raw.

* I'm grateful to the Sun and the vital solar energy it sends down to Earth each and every day (now, if only we would take advantage of it!).

* I'm grateful that a planet called "Earth" is actually covered with so much water. We could not survive without it.

* I'm grateful for the community of friends I have and with whom I share a passion for hiking, camping, and exploring the outdoors.