Conversation with a Martian

HOW WOULD I DESCRIBE EARTH?

First and foremost, if I met a Martian, I would probably scream and run or faint and if I don’t do either, I would proceed to do the world’s most awkwardly uncomfortable laugh/cry as these are generally my three go-to responses whenever I am thrust into a situation I am hopelessly unprepared for, such as a math test on logarithmic functions.

Once I have got my bearings and after having taken a million selfies with the Martian, I would embark on the telling of a story like no other. A story that no one but a human could believe.

I would tell them a story of a giant spinning rock, that is home to over 7.6 billion people and over 8.7 million species of animals. I would tell them about massive pyramids and humongous waterfalls, I would try my best to describe the colours of a butterfly’s wings, or the blue of Western Australia’s crystal clear beaches, the same blue I see in the eyes of a husky named Bruce who always jogs by me in the mornings.

Words would tumble out of my mouth when I describe the feeling of racing on horseback through the Arabian desert, with the sticky heat on your back and the taste of freedom in your mouth. I would talk about starry skies under an African sky that is always accompanied by a hyena’s cackle or a lion’s roar, a place of peace like no other. I would tell them about how when looking at the Northern Lights, a person just forgets how to breathe because of the divine power a sight like that holds.

I would tell them about the adrenaline of a sports game. I would talk about art, music, poetry, books and movies about the earth-shattering beauty a human can create. I would tell them how tiny we all seem in comparison to the whole world, how seemingly insignificant, but then I would tell them about Joan of Arc, Nelson Mandela and Shaikh Zayed and they would realise how one person could change the world.

They would be awestruck in all the beauty and love they find here on Earth but then I would also be forced to tell them how a human can destroy. About our endangered species, and our endangered people. About the wars that have torn us apart. I would tell them that all this beauty and all this good will be for nothing if we can’t keep it.

Then, finally, I would ask the Martian a question, “How do I get people to see the beauty in this world, the same way I do?”