Category: Nature/Environment

Trees


Nature has always been a great source of inspiration for me in my life. Every part of nature fascinates me. “Trees” are one of the most fascinating parts of nature. For me, the tree is like our mother in life. It is always willing to give more than it takes from nature always.

Every part of the “Tree” is valuable and gives us important lessons in life. . The roots of the tree ensures that it can weather all the storms of nature. It allows the tree to grow without taking any credit for it. It remains below the ground but the tree will die, if the roots are damaged.

The roots teaches us to be grounded always in life. We have to learn to keep our feet on the ground at all times. We tend to float in the air with a little bit of success in life. If we learn from the roots, we will remain humble and achieve a lot of success in life.

Lets move to the trunk. It is the strongest part of the tree. It ensures that the tree is firmly held on the ground. It ensures that branches grow around it and let the tree blossom as it grows. It ensures the health of the tree and maintains its vitality.

The lesson from the trunk is to keep ourselves healthy at all times. If we maintain good health at all times and keep ourselves fit, it is possible to achieve all that we desire in life. The trunk of the tree could be like our backbone. If the backbone is straight and maintained well, the whole body shapes up well in life as we grow up.

Now, lets move to the branches. They grow from the trunk and branch out in different directions. They grow healthily without hampering each others growth. Similarly in life, we have to learn to grow with our siblings at home and our team members at work without coming in their way for our selfish reasons.

If we move to the leaves, they absorb carbon dioxide from the air and provide the vital ingredients for the growth of the tree from the sunlight and the air. Similarly, we have to use our abilities to learn from everyone around us at home and at work by utilising our full potential.

The flowers are the most beautiful part of the tree. They bloom and spread the fragrance around it. They allow the bees to feed on their nectar and ensures the balance of nature. God has given humans a beautiful smile like the flowers. We need to spread cheer around us using our beautiful smile to make people happy all around us all the time.

The fruits provide fodder to the birds and the animals. They also provide nutrition to human beings without expecting anything in return. We need to share our knowledge and skills with others who need them without expecting anything in return. The tree never asks for anything in return from the animals or humans who consume the fruits from them.

Last but the most important, the trees provide oxygen and ensure a clean environment for us to breathe. We need to learn to keep our environs clean and commit to protect trees at all times. This could be a fitting tribute to a selfless organism, which does so much for us in life.

It also provides shade to anyone below it and ensures other trees grow as the seeds from the fruit is strewn around by animals and birds. We need to pass on our knowledge and skills to our future generations to ensure the sustainability of mankind.

Do you agree with my learnings from the “Tree” ?. If yes, can we all commit to protect the trees and environment around us not only for own survival but as our promise to the generations that follow us.

S Ramesh Shankar

The Moon


The sight of the moon is romantic.  It is radiant and cool.  It is selfless to say the least.  It absorbs light from the sun and reflects it to the earth.  While the sun is bright and warm, the moon is artistic and cool.  Nature has its unique way of balancing itself for our benefit.  While we need the sun in the day to warm us up and provide us with all the vitamin D we require, the moon keeps the darkness away and still allows us to sleep peacefully at night. 

I have always wondered as to why the moon is considered romantic.  One, you can admire it with your naked eyes and enjoy its beauty.  Second it radiates the light from the sun but keeps the environment cool for us.  It allows the stars to sparkle around it unlike the sun, which brightens the sky so much that no other stars are visible during the day.

The sun remains the same to the human eye right through the year and from morning to evening in a day.  On the other hand, the moon transforms from new moon to full moon over a fortnight and expresses itself in various forms each day.  You can admire the moon all night without harming your eyes.  On the other hand, the sun can be admired during sun rise at dawn or sunset at twilight.  If you try to admire the sun during other parts of the day, it may impact your eyes badly.

As the moon rises in the sky, the stars sparkle and the reflection of the moon on the ocean or rivers is worth a million words.  Poets and authors have revelled writing on the moon and its myriad forms.  While the sun sparkles our life with its warmth, the moon cools us with its mysteries.  While the sun encourages us to work hard and toil in the day, the moon teaches us to relax and sleep well at night.

The sun, moon and the stars are nature’s gift to mankind.  Each of them have their own gifts to give us.  The sun is hot, the moon cool and the stars sparkle.  Each of them add colour to our lives.  They play a useful role in our daily life and inspire us to admire and learn from them.

The sun can teach us to be bright and bold.   The moon teaches us to be selfless and cool and the stars advise us to sparkle and enjoy life.  We can learn from all of them and add energy to our lives.  The sun can be a symbol of intensity, the moon can be a symbol of patience and the stars can infuse energy into our lives.  We need to learn from the beauty of all of them.

Lets keep our cool like the Moon.

S Ramesh Shankar

The sound of “Silence”


I love the sound of “Silence”.  When you are in the midst of a rain forest, the only sound you hear is that of the dew drops on the tree leaves or the song of the birds.  It makes you reflect in solitude.  The greenery around you makes you fresh like the morning dew.  It energises you and enables you to sync with nature.  The tweaking of the old branches in the cool breeze of the forest or the thumping paws of a wild animal on the morning wet pathway are the only sounds around you.

The farther you are away from the city, the more the forest haunts you.  It makes you realize how much mankind has killed nature in the name of development. The orange forest flame ignites your mind.   The butterflies kindle your imagination. The whistling sound of the wind calms you down and makes you sit up.  All this makes you realize that the pollution of the traffic and noise of the roads do not drain you any more.  It is the fragrance of the forest, which soothes your soul here.

I got up early in the morning, went for a short walk and then a therupatic ayurvedic massage rejuvenated my body.  The breakfast filled my stomach and then it was time to sit and reflect in this lap of nature. When you are drowned in the noise of the city, your thoughts get choked, your emotions drained and mind wanders in the quest for materiality of life.  You forget to live life to its full potential.

What does nature offer us ?  We have huge trees giving us oxygen, the leaves brightening our sight, the birds singing the melody and the smell of the forest calming our mind.  You realize that nature has so much to give us and we give nothing back in return.  On the contrary, we give back trash, pollution, noise and tonnes of plastic to ruin the earth.

I can be myself when I am in the lap of nature.  It brings out the best in me.  It can connect the mind, body and soul.  It brings you closer to God. It makes you realize the power of the super power.  The sunlight appears brighter, the air is cooler and the music of nature is melodious. The environment makes your reflective.  You are willing to be one with nature.

Why do we ruin nature inspite of all that she gives us every day ?  I have no answer except to believe that human beings are greedy. We always want more from nature than we give back.  We want life to be better every day and are willing to squeeze all the natural resources around us without worrying on how we could nurture nature for the future.

It is time to wake up.  It is time to commit that we will give back at least half of what we get from nature.  We can make simple commitments.  We will not pollute the environment around us.  We will live more organically.  We will reduce the use of plastic.  We minimise the use of cars, bikes and aeroplanes.  We will plant more trees and nurture nature in all possible ways.

We need to remember that our kids will get what we leave behind.  Our fore fathers gave us such a beautiful world.  We need to commit to leave behind a better world for our future generations.

S Ramesh Shankar