Moving Words From Richard Powers

”Billion of years ago, a single, fluke, self-copying cell learned how to turn a barren ball of poison gas and volcanic slag into a garden. And everything you hope, fear, and love became possible”

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When I first read this in Richard Powers’ The Overstory, the words struck me in such a way that it left me feeling a sense of acceptance and tranquillity. I feel that in 2 short sentences, Powers was able to perfectly encapsulate the inexplicable beauty of the natural world and the miraculous process by which it came to be. With so much of my life spent searching for reasoning and explanation, these words inspired the idea that the world is a place of comprised of spontaneous and unintended beauty, as imperfect as it may be.