The Inner Monologue

Let’s talk about your dirty little secret—the one that haunts you every time you hike past a particularly alluring pebble. You glance around, making sure no one is watching, before you snatch it up and slip it into your pocket like some kind of geological kleptomaniac. And then, the guilt sets in.

What if everyone took a rock?

Oh, the horror! The trail would be stripped bare, the mountains would crumble into dust, and future generations would wander a barren wasteland, weeping over the lost age of freely available gravel.

Spoiler Alert: The Earth Has Plenty of Rocks

Here’s a fun fact: The Earth is old. Like, really old. And in its infinite patience, it has spent the last few billion years grinding down mountains into sand, cracking boulders into pebbles, and generally ensuring that there will always, always be more rocks where those came from.

If every human on the planet (all 8 billion of us) decided to descend upon your favorite hiking trail and each pocketed a single stone, do you know what would happen? A slight dip in the terrain. Maybe. And then, in a few months, erosion would dump a fresh batch of rocks right back where they came from.

But guess what? Not everyone is like you. Most people walk right past rocks without a second thought. They don’t feel the primal urge to hoard them like a dragon with a pile of particularly dull treasure. You are the exception, not the rule. So relax.

But What About the Lakes?

Ah, yes—the other great moral dilemma. What if I throw a rock into a lake? Will it fill up?

No. No, it will not. Lakes are not tiny bowls that will overflow because you tossed in a souvenir from your hike. If every human on Earth chucked a rock into the same lake, it would barely make a dent. Water is really good at finding its level, and rocks are really bad at stopping it.

So go ahead. Skip that stone. Watch it bounce. Feel the fleeting joy of rebellion. The lake will survive.

The Only Rule That Matters

Now, before you start drafting angry comments, let me be clear: If a place has rules against taking rocks, don’t take rocks. National parks, protected reserves, sacred sites—these places have restrictions for a reason. But the vast majority of the planet? It’s just dirt and rocks, endlessly recycling themselves.

So unless you’re planning to single-handedly dismantle a mountain one pebble at a time (in which case, please document the process for science), your little collection isn’t hurting anyone.

Now go forth, pocket that pretty stone, and silence the nagging voice in your head. The Earth will keep making more. It’s kind of its thing.