Sunday, 26 May 2013

On sustainability during troubled days



It is raining heavily today. We welcome the rain and the clod breeze. For this day, the rain is a blessing to us all in our state. It was hot for the past six months. The atmospheric temperature rose above 40o Celsius (104o Fahrenheit and above) on many days. Many people in our state suffered from sun burns.
It was never like this before. We used to enjoy a moderate temperature throughout the year and were proud of it. Everything changes these days.

As I wrote somewhere in another blog, we have some fruit bearing bushy plants and a small vegetable garden. We grow some flowering plants too. Everything together gives our home a nature friendly appearance.
I love all these, but am poor in caring for them. I am rather busy with my own engagements and miss a personal relationship with all these. I am really sad of it.

My wife takes care of all these bushes, plants and vegetables. She waters them every morning and evening. She is very particular that the soil must be wet always. Her face fades if any leaf fades.

This summer made some correction to the story. Last rainy season was not good for our state. So water scarcity was foretold and it really happened. Our wells went dry.
We have a rather good well and a public water supply connection to our house. By the month of January, our well showed signs of poverty. We had to fully depend of public water supply system. Tragedy hit there too. The Water Authority who was the government authority to maintain the water supply system has some sources of water here and there. They pump water from there to all houses. Unfortunately, the unprecedented draught hit their water sources too. They failed to supply water regularly.
We, the inhabitants of our state, Kerala (India) never went through such a scarcity of water. We did not know what to do to sustain our life.
Scarcity of water is the talk everywhere. The parching heat of the summer added to the trouble. We have the habit of bathing thrice a day even in rainy and winter season. The heat demanded more baths but we could not get sufficient water.

This is how people change their life style.
We had no sufficient water to sustain our life. Then how can we water our vegetables and plants twice a day. My wife realized the fact and stopped watering plants and vegetables. At times, whenever we got surplus water (that was rare) she poured a mug of water through the plants and vegetables. She could not do any better.
The survival of man became more important than the survival of flowering plants.

As it rains heavily from this morning, I looked at the fruit bearing bushes, the flowering plants and vegetables. Some of our plants and vegetables have disappeared. Bushy tress survived.
I am happy to find that many of our plants have survived this unprecedented hot summer with a mug of water they occasionally got.
They taught me a lesson.

Troubled days test our sustainability.
Are we sustained by the support of somebody else or are we living on our own foot.
During this hot summer, we left all the bushes and plants to find their own life support. We could no longer support them. They we left to deicide their own fate. None extended a helping hand. They could not expect help and support for their life from anybody else. Everybody is struggling.

We will be left alone in our troubled days. We have to go through the hard path all by ourselves. This struggle is our own.

There is one positive thing about this.
Many of my plants and vegetables survived those troubled days. I do not how, but there are many still there enjoying the new rain.
As I looked at them, they seemed to shout with joy that, “we have made it.” They have proved their mettle. No parching heat of the sun can defeat them.

How they did it? They found their own way to sustain their life. They decided on their fate.
What they might have done?

1.       Accepted that fact that these are bad days.
2.       Accepted the fact that none else can help or support them
3.       Adopted them to survive through the troubles.
4.       Were not discouraged to see some of their friends fall dead beside them.
5.       They decided to fix their future and decided to live.
6.       A mug of water they got occasionally was not sufficient, but was thankful for it.
7.       Finally, how they survived is a mystery to me and will be to all us – they found a mysterious way to sustain themselves.

Troubles are there in our life. Troubles are for finding the mysterious way to sustain ourselves. Troubles will enable the sustainability for those who wish to live.



Further reading:

Professor Jacob Abraham                                                                            

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