Today is World Environment Day and poignantly, nature in all her fury and rage has taken its vengeance on all of mankind. Time and again, there were earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, famines, and the onset of new diseases but we chose to ignore all war cries and alarms that knocked our doors. And now, unfortunately the world is fighting the most devastating human tragedy of our times.
Ironically amidst this ravage, our planet is healing. Nature is beaming as it gradually reclaims its space that has hitherto been ravaged and invaded by mankind. Now, we can once again hear the birds chirp melodiously as they spread their wings into the bright blue clear skies, the sun shines brightly, and the stars light up the clear dark nights. The air is crisp and laden with freshness and fragrance of the lush green forests while the bees and butterflies fly freely amongst the blooming flowers. Wildlife moves fearlessly and in peace wondering where the predator has gone. Clear river waters shimmer brilliantly in the morning sunshine. Dolphins dance in the deep blue water bodies near the sparkling spotless beaches, while the underwater kingdom rejoices and celebrates as it recovers its terrain.
It now hits us that we are the victims of this contagion of our own making and our planet has sent a strong message for us to imbibe on this World Environment Day:
• Our Planet allows us to take shelter in her arms and it is our home, but we do not own the planet and its beautiful glories.
• Our Planet provides for all living beings, but we have no right to invade its space for our unsatiated greed and avarice.
• Our Planet provides for co-existence and harmony for all of us with nature, but we have no right to disturb or destroy the precariously fragile balance between nature and mankind.
• On our Planet, all our lives and nature are interconnected but we cannot live alone and reign supreme.
• Our Planet is the only place where we can live. It provides us with all we need, air, water, sunshine, and all other bounties to live and survive, but we cannot live if we do not take a collective responsibility to save our Planet!
We therefore must pledge to reset our buttons, to fiercely protect our Earth to allow it to heal and Mother Nature to thrive and make it a better place for all us to live and thrive.