You have always been a friend of nature, but now, more than ever, you are of this Earth.

Today, on Earth Day, I celebrate not just the planet you loved so dearly, but I also celebrate you, its protector. Now, as you look after it from above, you participate in its dance, making each ordinary occurrence, anything but.

For you are the rustling of leaves on an old oak tree. You are the sweet, pure fragrance of a pink rose in bloom. You are the deep, rich color of freshly-turned soil. You are the shadow of a hawk as it flies overhead. You are the honey bee, humming as it toils.

You are the delicate silver clouds just passing through. You are the glow of the sun as it ducks beneath the horizon. You are the waves colliding under the stained glass sky. You are the sea foam left bubbling and twinkling ashore. You are the little golden specks in a landscape of sand. You…