Unanswered Good Mornings


I sit quietly just before sunrise on the grainy white powder, just close enough to allow its turquoise cousin to grace the tips of my feet. The cool breeze blows through my sand-dusted hair, the first breeze of the morning. I watch intently as the breeze ever so gently lifts the sand to relay its good morning. The sand offers no return wishes, so the breeze then moves on to its other cousin – the deep blue. I feel the breeze brush strongly against my face and watch as the sea waves its good mornings to the breeze.

With all the early risers up, I must simply await the always-late riser. So, I lie back on the bountiful sand, close my eyes, and await the most vibrant good morning. My thoughts cross over to dreamland, envisioning a life in the midst of the blue sea: a life surrounded by the beautiful blue water. I imagine one day I will venture beneath its wavy surface to discover an unforeseen world. This new world will be filled with different, yet friendly creatures. I live in perfect harmony among them and the sea’s many cousins. I dream an impossible dream; still, I find peace in imagining, hopeful that one day my dream will no longer be a dream.

Suddenly I feel the grace of the final good morning on my skin, the late riser has risen. I peel my eyes open slowly to see the bright good morning sun shining down. I quickly look away though. Even though I’ve been awake a while, the sun’s good morning is still too bright. Eventually, I reopen my lids to a more pleasant good morning: the shine had been partially hidden behind a cousin in the sky. I am grateful for its shielding. Soon the fluffy, white cloud allows the shine to pass through. The excitement builds. The sand gets a bit whiter to greet the shine. The sea also sparkles little white diamonds back to greet the shine. I await the breeze’s response, but, as usual, I am disappointed. The breeze has ventured onward. A quiet stillness fills the air.

It seems to me that this is a dysfunctional family. Some of nature’s relatives appear to not like others: the breeze dislikes the sun, and the clouds dislike the breeze. But what troubles me the most is where I fit into this family. Every day these five cousins offer me peace and solace, and I do nothing in return. Humans do not greet or offer any favors to these cousins. We simply take advantage of everything they offer. Despite all the damage we inflict on all of nature’s cousins, they still offer their gifts: things we require for continued survival.
A ten-year-old boy can do nothing for nature but admire its simple beauty and be thankful for everything it grants him. In the family of nature, man must be a better member. We must say good morning.