• We built cities without listening. We cut down forests like they were nothing more than obstacles. We polluted rivers and called it “progress.”
  • And now, as the climate grows more chaotic, we act surprised—as though the Earth had no right to defend itself.

There’s a common phrase tossed around these days, “The planet is dying.” It’s dramatic, urgent, and meant to wake people up. To call for immediate action perhaps. But I’m beginning to wonder if we’ve misunderstood what’s really happening.

The Earth isn’t dying—it’s withdrawing from us. Retreating. Resisting. Refusing to be taken for granted any longer.

You see it in the floods that rewrite maps overnight. In the droughts that leave once-fertile ground cracking like broken pottery. In the shifting seasons that no longer play by the rules we thought were fixed.

Nature isn’t silent anymore. It’s speaking back, louder and less politely. And maybe that’s the point.

We built cities without listening. We cut down forests like they were nothing more than obstacles. We polluted rivers and called it “progress.” And now, as the climate grows more chaotic, we act surprised—as though the Earth had no right to defend itself.

But if someone kept hurting you, wouldn’t you eventually pull away too? Wouldn't you eventually stand up for yourself once you have had enough?

It’s easy to feel helpless in the face of environmental collapse. But maybe what we really need is humility. Maybe we need to stop seeing ourselves as owners of the planet and start seeing ourselves as guests. Temporary ones, at that. Here for a season, just a passing moment in time.

Caring for the environment isn’t about saving some abstract concept called “nature.” It’s about restoring a relationship. One we broke. One we keep trying to patch up with climate conferences and carbon credits. But what nature needs more than money is respect. Presence. Restraint. Care.

The Earth will go on with or without us. It has for billions of years. But if we want to be part of its future, we need to stop treating it like it owes us something.

It doesn’t. We owe it everything and so much more.