Balance

Last night I could finally see the moon after a few cloudy nights. It was yellowish and its brightness could reflect upon the ocean even though it was a crescent moon. It looked like it was smiling at us, at Sea Dragon and at the ocean. It looked like two clouds were holding it, and after it disappeared behind them. Gently and smoothly. It was beautiful to see such a scenario.

I love the night watch. You are able to see so many stars and new constellations that I personally have never seen before. Sometimes you are inundated by a rain of shooting stars and there are so many that you have no more wishes to express. You are able to witness the moonrise and it looks like Venus, the moon’s closest friend, is pulling with a tiny little thread upon the dark sky, whispering to it how beautiful it is, and that it is its moment to reveal its beauty.

I love the night watch because it brings interesting conversations about how we are all connected to nature. Just a few days ago, we crossed the mighty river of our planet, which travels across the Amazon forest. The Amazon forest, the lung of our planet with its gigantic trees and plants that spread oxygen and produces CO₂ that keeps us alive. All the forests and jungles on the planet help us breathe and control our climate, together with the ocean and its photosynthetic micro-organisms that work day and night to give us oxygen for us to breathe and therefore live. These little creatures, invisible to the naked eye, are working like leaves on trees. They capture the sunlight and CO₂ from the atmosphere, and respire back oxygen. The same happens in the terrestrial ecosystem, and to us. We need sunlight to give us energy, and we need trees and the ocean to breathe. Our waste could fertilize our soil, becoming nutritious food.

These stories are shared during our night watch, thanks to Barbara who is sharing her scientific knowledge. I then go to sleep for another few hours before my other watch, thinking how balanced and beautiful our world is. I ask myself why should we change the world? The world we live in is already balanced, beautiful and perfect as it is. Perhaps we should change the way WE approach the world, we should find our balance with it and live with it.

Ërika Braccini – eXXpedition resident Designer