We have vexed and bothered every plant and every animal on every continent.

And yet, words are the passkeys to our souls. Without them, we can't really share the enormity of our lives.

Writing is my form of celebration and prayer.

We ogle plants and animals up close on television, the Internet and in the movies. We may not worship the animals we see, but we still regard them as necessary physical and spiritual companions. Technological nature can't completely satisfy that yearning.

Hit a tripwire of smell and memories explode all at once. A complex vision leaps out of the undergrowth.

Fear is danger to your body, but disgust is danger to your soul.

Disassociating, mindfulness, transcendence-whatever the label-it's a sort of loophole in our contract with reality, a form of self-rescue.