Imagine two astronauts go to the moon, and while they're there,
there's an accident and their ship can't take them back to Earth.
They have only enough oxygen for two days. There is no hope
of someone coming from Earth in time to rescue them. They have
only two days to live. If you were to ask them at that moment,
"What is your deepest wish?" they would answer, "To be back home
walking on our beautiful planet Earth." That would be enough for them;
they wouldn't want anything else. They wouldn't think of being the head
of a large corporation, a famous celebrity, or the president of the
United States. They wouldn't want anything but to be back here -
walking on Earth, enjoying every step, listening to the sounds of nature,
or holding the hand of their beloved while contemplating the moon at night.
We should live every day like people who have just been rescued from
dying on the moon. We are on Earth now, and we need to enjoy walking
on this precious, beautiful planet.
--Thigh Nhat Hanh