Conserving Nature One Step at a Time

Too often we forget that we're living on a pale blue dot. President Obama in his recent remarks on announcing the Clean Power Plan reminded me of the time when I first saw Carl Sagan's episode of Cosmos where the picture has an arrow that points to the blue dot.

As Carl Sagan talks about all the memories that have been created on this blue marble, the viewer is left mesmerized and humbled by his words. It was perhaps for the first time the generation of the technological age saw Earth as a big home rather than just cities connected with highways. 

And as President Obama too said in his speech "We only get one planet. We only get one home. There is no Plan B." His words echo the famous lines of an ancient Hindu scripture which says "For those who're known as magnanimous, the entire world constitutes but a family."

Before writing this post I watched the 'Pale Blue Dot' video again. But as the YouTube asks you to go through thirty seconds of commercials I had no other option but to wait. It was a video of Progressive Insurance Company. 

As I saw the actors talk about saving money and somehow propagating the message that saving is important, big or small. I couldn't help but think can I apply the same in my personal life when it comes to giving back to nature.

I think I can. A friend of mine spoke to me about conserving nature, she wasn't satisfied with the efforts her employer was doing to conserve nature as part of corporate social responsibility. And as a puny human being I don't know how I can solve this mammoth problem that is affecting our homes. 

Well I think the answer is hidden in the scripture I quoted. It says "अयं बन्धुरयं नेति गणना लघुचेतसाम् | उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् |" I'm not a Sanskrit scholar so I cannot delve into the scholarly or spiritual meanings of these lines. 

But here is a rough translation "this one is a relative; this other one is a stranger" is for the mean-minded. For those who're known as magnanimous, the entire world constitutes but a family".

For me these lines point to the single most important thing we as human beings can do to save nature and unknowingly (or knowingly) save ourselves. Everything starts with humility - that's what these lines mean to me.

My attitude towards nature has to begin with humility. The humility that comes from realizing that I am only a small part of this world. The humility that shows us the magnanimous nature of mother Earth as she let us build our homes, our lives and our memories. She let us eat her fruits, marvel at her jungles and feel delighted at the numerous other wonders she beholds for us every time we venture out of our comfort zone.

Perhaps that's the way to begin saving nature. Be humble, maybe I'll waste less water, I'll use less electricity, I won't throw plastics on the top of the mountain I went to admire, I'll respect Earth. So that would be my tiny contribution to this worldwide campaign.

And perhaps one day, not in too distant future, I'll be able to make a large contribution to keeping our home beautiful and alive. 

You can read President Obama's speech here.