When you realize other species experience desire and pleasure, things you may have thought were only for humans, the world becomes infinitely more beautiful. When you learn that asters and goldenrod look so lovely next to one another because their purple and golden petals appear more vivid side by side—because the pollinator finds this lovely and eye-catching, too—you feel less alone. When you see how a bowerbird spends years of his life artistically arranging his home to attract love, you can more easily see yourself as part of a long, sprawling story on this earth.
