Syed Mustafa Ahmad
According to Samuel Taylor Coleridge our only concern is earning and spending. We have no time to observe nature. We have lost touch with it. Natural processes happen and we are unmoved. John Keats said that a thing of beauty is a joy forever. If we look at it carefully, it encompasses a lot of lessons for us. The beautiful things can or can’t have beauty. But it is beauty that makes the things beautiful and acts as a source of joy forever. If we try to analyze it in depth, we will come across many positive effects that can never be forgotten easily like in case of William Wordsworth, when he came across the host of golden Daffodils, beside the lake. The eternal joy given by that scene left a permanent mark both inside and outside. Let us try to follow Wordsworth and try to get closer with nature and avail benefits as much as possible. The first benefit of nature is social companionship. A person never feels alone in nature. A friend can or can’t be a permanent source of joy; but nature always remains the person’s friend. It never leaves him or her alone. So, nature is a good friend that can never be overlooked. The second benefit of nature is that it gives aesthetic benefit. Nature soothes our nerves when we feel chaotic in the mad race of materialism. The different landscapes make us joyous. We feel delighted both inside and outside. The greenery of trees, the sounds of the rivers, the beautiful flowers, the blue Sky, the charming mountains, etc., make us appreciate that there is something more than materialism. The most important thing is that we come very close to the Creator of the world. We try to know the reality behind the creation of things. We both become the worldly conscious and the self-conscious. The third benefit is that it is a good source of income. Agriculture is the main source that can not be found without nature. It supports a huge chunk of population. Billions of people depend on agriculture and its allied allies for their livelihood. It is a primary source of economy. Without agriculture, no country can be self-sufficient. China is an example of this. They have properly utilized the available technology in agriculture and have become the second largest economy in the world after America. So, nature can never be overestimated. Moreover, it can never be ruthlessly exploited for the benefits discussed above.
The need of the hour is to pause and give nature time to get to its original form. A man cannot live without nature. So, nature should be utilized in a sustainable way. We should mind that ours responsibility is to gift a sustainable future to our coming generations. We can still make a change. But there should be collective well in doing this.
The fourth benefit of nature is its benevolence. It doesn’t discriminate among the different creatures. If a man lives in harmony with nature, nature itself will be beneficial. But a man’s greed can prove fatal. That period was worthy when we used to love nature. But the present circumstances compel us to think that somewhere down the line, we have acted wrong. Destruction greets us everywhere. Millions of species are on the verge of extinction. Many are extinct. Air, water, soil, etc., are polluted. No escape is present to opt for. So, it means that there can be no benevolent other than nature. The fifth benefit of nature is that has religious importance. Some animals and trees have religious values. They are sacred. They are worshipped. Like the Forbidden Tree mentioned in the holy Qur’an and the holy Bible. It is still discussed and interpreted differently. The discussion of Olive trees in the holy Bible also talks about the Day of Judgment. The Muslims slaughter animals on Eid-Ul-Adha to come close to Allah. The Hindus don’t kill the Cows on religious grounds. They call a cow sacred. They feel grieved if the cows are killed in front of them. It also means that nature has emotional attachment with us. In short, the value of nature can never be overlooked. It will keep us nourishing us till the end of the world. However, it is the secondary question that we destroy nature ruthlessly. The need of the hour is to pause and give nature time to get to its original form. A man cannot live without nature. So, nature should be utilized in a sustainable way. We should mind that ours responsibility is to gift a sustainable future to our coming generations. We can still make a change. But there should be collective well being in doing this.
(The author is a freelancer. Views are his own, [email protected])
