Imagine it's the year 2256...

I'd imagine it's the year 2256... Two million people live on Mars. You're heading there to visit. You're talking to somebody there who's born there. They've never been outside without a suit. Every breath they've ever taken comes from a machine. Food comes from labs and cans. And nothing is natural there. And so they ask you. "Hey, you're from planet Earth, aren't you?" "Can you tell me what planet Earth is like?" You don't know where to begin. And so you say... "Well, there's water everywhere. There's so much water, actually. Water even drops down from the sky." And they're like, "What do you mean?" "You stand in it. You could just..." You're like, "Yeah, you can stand in it." You start telling them about the oceans. How there's creatures underneath you with eight arms. Glowing fish, whales singing to each other. Sea horses, coral reefs. They're super confused. And they're like, "What do you mean you can go down there and look?" And you tell them, "Yeah. You just put on goggles and an oxygen tank. And you go down there and look." But as you're describing these things that you haven't even tried or experienced these things yourself. That you only know these things from seeing videos or seeing it on a screen. Start telling them about the food. Trees with the fruits hanging from their branches. Oranges filled with pockets of juice. Kiwis. Sourness of lemon and lime. Grapes, cucumbers. And all kinds of flavors and tastes that they can't imagine. And you tell them, "You can grow it too." "You could take a tiny seed and plant it in the soil outside of your home." And they stop you and they say... "All of that exists all in one place?" Then you stop for a second. Because you realize they haven't even heard anything yet... And they're already amazed. Because suddenly you start to think about... Ants carrying leaves. Skiing. Lions roaring! Mycelium spreading beneath our feet. Birds flying. Bears catching salmon. Grass. Ice. Hail. Lizards falling asleep on warm rocks. Mosquitoes, dragonflies. Fireflies lighting up in the dark. Saltwater. Freshwater. Glaciers. Glowing plankton. Pyramids. Sailboats. Cruises, jungles. Hot springs. Penguins. Giraffes reaching trees. Hummingbirds hovering in one place. Elephants bathing. Bees covered in pollen. Spiders building spider webs. Caterpillars turning into butterflies. Climbing a tree. Riding a horse. Thunder shaking the windows. Sleeping under the stars. Lightning turning night into day. Rainbow. Your breath visibly becoming cold. Warm bread. Cold breeze on a sweaty face. Feeling the wind on a road trip. Languages you haven't learned. Cities you've never been. Foods you've never tasted. People you've never met. It's all on the same planet. It's happening right now... And all those images of those things. You realize that most of them you've only seen through a screen. Just like they have here on Mars. You know what they look like, but you've never really experienced it. The person looks back at you and just says, "Oh my god. When you wake up, you must do so much?" To see how small you felt next to an elephant. You never saw the lights in the Northern Lights... You didn't check out that waterfall yet... On your way back to the spaceship, they look at you and thank you for your visit and tell you, "Hey... next time when it rains, can you please stand outside in it for me?" Stand in the rain for a minute, and, just feel it. Because they would do anything just to feel what that is like. So go outside and... go feel some soil... Because you can. Can.