Beautiful. I love this essay, Michael.

I still have dreams of a free world and loved planet because I enjoy torturing myself about what could have been. I imagine an affectionate, open, creative, and caring population who worship nature like a God, but I also envision myself scavenging for food on a scorched earth.

Today, I wondered why I haven't stopped thinking about a world founded on justice, peace, love, and appreciation because I am not hopeful. I am a cynical realist (there is no other type of realist), aware of the world's devastation and horrors and the future's accelerating terror.

Yet, I still imagine something better. It is my principles, knowing we could have created anything had we maintained our humanness instead of losing ourselves to inauthentic substances. It's a tragedy, and the permanent destruction of everything beautiful is our saddest legacy.