The Carbon Cycle

Carbon is the building block for every living thing, like the super-glue of life. When we breathe out, we give carbon to the trees, and when the trees grow, they give us oxygen to breathe in. Even when an old tree falls in the forest, it turns back into carbon soil to help tiny new seeds grow. This means the same carbon that was once in a dinosaur might be in your fingernail right now! It is the ultimate way that we are all physically connected to the past and the future.

You breathe out what trees breathe in. Trees breathe out what you breathe in. You are not separate from nature. You are in a conversation with it. Every breath is a sentence.

Biogeochemical cycling moves carbon through biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Death is the literal chemical reality of sequestration and release. Demonstrates interconnectedness of all life-forms as temporary vessels for a global pool of atoms. The carbon in your body has been star, rock, ocean, tree, and animal before it became you.

SOUND: The rustling of dry leaves that will soon turn back into dirt.

SMELL: Rich, musky scent of fresh garden compost.

TASTE: The crunch of a fresh carrot pulled straight from the ground.

TOUCH: Hands in dark, cool, moist potting soil: touching recycled life.

SIGHT: Smoke rising from a campfire: carbon returning to the sky.

BODY: The weight of your body: mostly carbon that has been everything before you.

Music: Miramare by Sons Of The East

Music: Landslide by The Chicks

Music: Mr. Roboto by Styx

Part of Seasons & Cycles — NATURE — Education Revelation