Not All Classrooms Have Four Walls
Nature is a great teacher. No wonder why Grandma used to look up to elements of nature to understand life. The Sun, the Moon, Trees, Rivers, the streams, and the seasons were all treated with divinity.
Today, the human race has created very compulsive and derogatory circumstances for itself pushing Mother Nature into the garb of uncertainty. Today, youth must be sensitive enough to understand that the essence of being human is to be cosmic, and not be narcissistic. My cosmic identity, the realization of oneself as the entire cosmos, entangles me to the emotions of every form of life. If I consider all the trees around me a very natural extension of myself, I will never be interested in cutting or exploiting them by any means. Likewise, if I experience the bliss and sorrow of all life forms around me as much as they do, this would make me realize what harm are my actions causing to the environment I live in. Thus, refraining me from a felony.
The sun does not wrestle with the clouds to show its greatness; it does not take away the cloud’s moment of glory, that the cloud could overshadow somebody as high as the sun. Instead, the sun gives the cloud a halo, a silver lining, making the cloud look even more beautiful. Humans, especially leaders, need to learn this from the sun. When one is paramount, is in a position of power, it is not necessary to take away the limelight from others all the time. Appreciating others not only adds to your glory, but it also mandates how others look upon to you again.
The moon is always happy and filled with love. It doesn’t matter that it is faced with a change every single day. A crescent smile or a wide one, it still inspires hope and love. Let there be imperfections; the moon’s surface is what draws people in admiration. Remember the moon and realize that what you perceive to be flaws may be what drives others towards you.
We live in a rainbow of chaos, and it is delicate yet charming. That multi-hued semicircle appears in the sky every time there is a bit of drizzle and a bit of sunshine. It feels so ecstatic. Take a break to realize that life is always like that — a bit of sun and a bit of drizzle over our best-laid plans. But then it is that what gives it a lovely colour, without which, life would be just black and white. It also tells us that beauty lies in the diversity, more so in the unity of diversity.
The tree never knowingly harms anybody. Instead, it feeds the hands that hurt it, whether one pelts it with stones for the fruit or cuts it for the wood. The first knowledge of virtues like patience, forgiveness, generosity must have come by observing the trees.
The river is playful in some places, tumbles down with a roar or is very peaceful sometimes. It finds its sweet music, makes its path, and there is nothing that can stop it, no, not even the biggest boulder. And best of all, it selflessly accepts its merger into the big, vast sea.
Can human life and its final journey be any different? Today, If all the life but humans disappear from the face of this planet, The Human race being subject to its pettiness would be extinct in no time. On the shear contrary, If all the humans disappear right now, the planet and all its life forms would flourish to glory. This situation is unfortunate, yet is a harsh alarm to get sustainable and wholly aligned with the rules of nature in whatever we do. The widespread destruction and the loss of life and property in the recent natural calamities is a prompt reaction to our gradual anarchy and unsustainable lifestyle. It is a mere testimony to the fact that we are in no shape to sustain a war with Mother Nature. In that case, we would be waging war against ourselves because even if we have built civilizations that have distanced us from the roots of our evolution, we are no lesser sprouts of our Mother whom we often take for granted.
Although no words are enough, I thank Mother Earth for her teachings, for the abundant love and warmth she brings to life and the gifts she shares with every creature of which humankind is only a bit. Let’s take this opportunity to involve ourselves, and gain perspective of our role on this Earth. It may seem like a simple task, but taking a day-long trek in the woods all by yourself would make you realize that removing ourselves from the busyness of human life may be one of the most human things we can do for ourselves.
— Yash Mandlecha