I was thinking about photosynthesis recently, and what a bizarre and amazing concept it is. A plant takes the sunlight that is already shining on it and uses it to create energy for itself. Then animals eat the plant, and other animals eat the animals, and the energy from the sun is passed on and on through the ecosystem.

Then I thought about the parallels in human life. The best forms of sustenance, I think, are the thoughts we have or things we do by which we generate energy and happiness for ourselves out of the forces that already surround us. It is vital to have a few of these kinds of “spiritual photosynthesis,” so that we are not dependent for our happiness on influences that we cannot control. If we do have the ability to generate our own energy like this, we can’t help spreading it around and generally increasing the wholesomeness of the world. Rather than draining away energy, we can (even in the midst of the most miserable experiences) leave everything we touch with a little more charge than it had before.