Here we are, with the most daylight of the year here in the northern hemisphere – and it feels wonderful. Light in the mornings, light in the evenings, big batches of kale and arugula pesto from the garden…

While the weather has been cool here in Colorado this spring, with snow still covering the high mountains, it has been hotter than usual in other parts of the world (like on the Greenland ice sheet). During the day, I work on modeling how the Greenland ice sheet retreats in a warmer climate, simulating the complex global physics and interactions of the atmosphere, land, and ocean. I go to seminars to hear other scientists talk about the circulation patterns and biogeochemical systems that make our planet habitable, and how they are changing.

As you are aware, many pieces of the Earth system are changing rapidly, in extreme ways, and on timescales much shorter than in Earth’s past climate cycles. As humans, we are collectively conducting a grand experiment with our planet by altering its carbon cycle in a big way, and we don’t fully understand the cascade of irreversible tipping points we are approaching (or have already tipped, in some cases). It will be interesting to see what happens.

You cannot separate yourself from the natural world, as you are woven tightly into the intricate web of life. Realizing this fact is a key part of the process of Yoga.  When you acknowledge this interconnected quality of existence, you can’t help but try to be kind and gentle.  Every action has far-reaching effects, so take responsibility and be deliberate in what you choose to consume and support, the things you buy, the food you eat, the clothes you wear. Get away from the computer, the phone, and the air-conditioned indoor environment. Open the windows, eat lunch outdoors, and live outside as much as possible. Enjoy the sunshine, the fresh warm air, the smell of young leaves and flowers and dirt, the caress of grass on your bare feet, the Earth rising up to hold you, the brilliant sky a container for it all.

Soak up the summer and the soaring majesty of our world. Don’t miss what’s here!