“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
This saying may seem simple yet it holds profound reality. It reminds us that our time on this planet is not permanent. We (every generation) stand at the midpoint of historical sacrifices and future hopes. Every action we take today directly affects the generations yet to be born.
Source
I was on my (bad) scrolling hunt, when I first read these words. The first thing I imagined wasn’t about a child gazing at a lush forest, but about the victims of Swat (Pakistan) tourists. I didn’t think of strong waves to surf, but the death of nearly hundred humans (mostly children) caused by the Guadalupe River wrath (Texas, America). The thought that the trees were ancient guards, roots knotted deep in soil formed over centuries. The thought vanished as soon as I read the news that a drought had turned forests into hell (southern France).
I see people claiming that it has been going on since the birth of this ‘planet’. But, deep down we all know that we have taken this planet ‘for granted.’ All these events are the harsh reminder that climate driven disasters are not mere isolated events, they are the symptoms of an inhabitual future ahead. In that moment, I sensed a sacred trust, this world is lent to us and we must treat it with care.
Time is a river carrying our children’s dreams.
-Mary Oliver.
We are so engulfed with technology, industrialization and capitalism that we have forgotten all the work done by Romantics. Today those thoughts are mere marks scoring ideas. We are just machine-like individuals.
“The guy who’s a slave to money holds a whip, and pretends to be the master of the slave he bought with his money. He just doesn’t realize it himself. Everyone is a slave to something.” -Vinland Saga
If we pollute our rivers, burn our forests and poison our skies, we steal those dreams before they can even take shape. A soul lost to human negligence drifts in silence, dreams turned to ashes. Every drop of clean water, every strong tree, every breath of pure air is a gift we hold in trust. To steal these gifts is to betray the very souls who will inherit tomorrow.
Consider the polar bear, drifting on melting icebergs. Cool! Its habitat dissolves because of the warming temperature. Without immediate action, this majestic creature may vanish forever, and later, “the Sapiens.” Well, we may perceive that the biggest threat are the elites or the capitalists or the industrialists, but the biggest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else like a Messiah will come and save us all. We all bear responsibility, from small daily choices like using public transport to collective effort such as adapting to renewable energy.
All we need is to do some borrowing from our ancestors and mix it with modern technology. It brings creativity, innovation and compassion. Cities can bloom with vertical gardens and solar rooftops. Communities can gather to clean beaches, plant trees and teach children to connect with nature rather than screens and screens only. Every small step matters! Our ancestors trusted us to continue their work. Now it is our turn to pass a healthier and liveable world forward.
As Barack Obama declared, “We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last that can do something about it.”
In the end, mother nature does not care about man-made boundaries or flags. Floodwaters surge equally through Pakistan’s Swat and Texas’s Hill Country. Wildfires ignite the same in France as in America (California). Our divisions in the name of nationalism, politics, identity vanish in the face of storms and flames. Let us Weather the Change!
PEACE🕊️