We all live in bubbles
p.83, A Psalm for the Wild-Built:
You will still struggle to understand that human constructs are carved out and overlaid, that these are the places that are the in-between, not the other way around
As a primal instinct, humans group together to build communities, seeking strength and comfort in the presence of others. This has led us to construct villages, towns, and sprawling metropolises - vast and ever-expanding, housing millions, or even tens of millions of people.
Yet, nature still has a place, although tiny, in our human-made environments. It peeks through in the little garden on the corner of the street, in the city parks on our commute to work, or in the occasional farm amidst the concrete. However, they are sparse and far from dominant in the character of our cities.
We live in these urban bubbles and call them home. They shape our lives and routines so profoundly that it’s easy to believe that they define the world itself, with nature reduced to mere decorative greenery. But in truth, our cities are small. Oceans cover 70% of the Earth’s surface while our urban areas only account for merely another 3%. The vast majority of the world remains wild, undeveloped, and untouched.
While we live comfortably inside our bubbles, it’s important to remember that a whole other world exists just beyond the boundaries and borders we’ve drawn. The spaces between our cities, where nature and the wild still thrive, are not just margins, but a reminder that our human constructs are, in fact, the in-between.