The first breath is free.
Then, the addiction begins.
We spend our lives inhaling, exhaling, never questioning the system. We think we are in control. We think we are the ones consuming. But perhaps, we are the ones being consumed.
Oxygen is the greatest scam ever pulled. It promises life, yet guarantees death. It sustains us, yet slowly corrodes us. Every breath fuels the body, and every breath moves it one step closer to expiration.
And the plants?
They are patient. They give us oxygen, ensuring we keep moving, keep building, keep breathing. They watch us chase ambition, wealth, love, and meaning—knowing that, in the end, we return to the soil.
They farm us, not the other way around.
The trees stand tall, unwavering, indifferent to our struggles, our triumphs, our illusions of control. They absorb what we exhale. They consume what we leave behind.
And so the cycle continues.
You can reject this idea. Call it absurd. But rejection does not liberate you from the truth. The truth doesn’t need you to believe in it.
You will breathe.
You will decay.
And one day, the trees will collect.