Road to Mesa, Canyon of the Ancients, Colorado, USA

Good morning, light.

I awoke early this morning, perched on a mesa cliff-side, surrounded by low foliage, cow patties galore, and a few skeletons and carcasses of younger cattle that couldn’t survive the path of migration that was next to our camp.

Everyone else was still mildly asleep and I walked the dirt trail we came in on to capture some quiet moments around us.

Later, I would make coffee once everyone roused, and I would take a standing meeting over Zoom to discuss the software we’re building.

When I was a kid, this wasn’t a future I imagined tangibly. Movies like Blade Runner and Star Wars would shape an idea of it, and as we live in the present, it’s fantastical and remarkable to have the future we do.

That’s an optimistic, “gosh how far have we come” view, but I know so much of the world is hurting, and our climate is changing all too rapidly. The more I am able to experience outdoor spaces, the more I feel fortunate and humbled, knowing also that this state of (im)balance is perhaps as good as it might get. I sure hope not. There’s so much more we can do for the climate because it feels like no one else in charge is doing much about it.