"Hey Rahul! How have you been?", asked Mathew.
"Ah, I'm good buddy... It's been such a long time", replied Rahul.
"Yeah, quite a while, I reckon".
"So... What are you planning to do this weekend?".
"I heard Smitha is here from the U.S for a 2 week long vacation", said Mathew. "I'm thinking of calling her up and seeing if she has time to catch up".
"Wow! That's such good news!", exclaimed Rahul. "I'd love to meet her too... Are her husband & kids in town too?".
"Yeah, I think so".
"Good. Then let's find out if any of our old pals in town are free to catch up".
"Absolutely!", beamed Mathew. "I was just about to suggest that myself".
"It'd be wonderful for all of us to get together after such a long time".
"Let's make sure it happens then... ASAP". Mathew seemed as thrilled as a school kid.
"Yeah! With so many of us, it'd be one hell of a reunion".
"What do you suggest we do when we all meet up?"
"How about planting a tree for each person? Spouses, kids, all included.."
"Awesome bro! That's such an amazing idea... Let's do it!".
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Sounds too good to be true right? Like an unlikely & absolutely unconvincing conversation between two old friends??
You're right! Such a conversation among friends would be something improbable in today's times. Wondering why?
Well... One simple answer could be that planting a tree doesn't feature in the 'fun things to do with friends' list we may all be familiar with. Why would someone want to 'waste time' planting trees when they can have fun with friends, right? ...Like grabbing a drink & catching up on what you've missed or maybe watching a movie together. Or perhaps a long drive or brushing up an old sport you thought you were no longer good at.
While I agree with the fact that doing all those things with your friends would be absolutely fun & necessary, I'd like to emphasize that planting a tree (or more!) is no less fun as well as utterly necessary. In fact, it is the NEED OF THE HOUR.
We worship different Gods and fight with each other every single day and choose to believe that our Gods & our numerous religions need to be protected. What we forget in the process is that we are ignoring the one God that is around all of us -Nature. We don't realize the fact that it is Mother Nature that needs to be worshiped as well as protected equally by all of us.
We don't forget to complain at every chance we get about the climate getting extremely hotter or drastically colder and sometimes even unpredictable. We express our displeasure quite vocally when there are unexpected rains or if the monsoon gets delayed. So, who is to blame for all that is happening around us? Think about it for a moment and I'm sure the answer will flash across your mind. Take a deep breath & try to recollect the last time you did something to change the current situation. If you have an answer, good for you. If not, then it's high time you did something about it. It is easy to curse the world around us and move on with our mediocre lives. What takes guts is to stand up on your feet and do what it takes to make it better!
Too much of importance is given to our gadgets and we have become slaves to the technology we created to aid us. The madness to outdo each other with newer gadgets has become the norm of the day. While it is important to stay connected with your work, family and friends, it is even more important to stay connected with your true self. How is that possible, you may ask. Take a break. Get away from the madness while you can. Go to a place where you're surrounded by nothing but trees. There may not be a Wi-Fi connection, but you'll definitely feel a far better connection. Someone once rightly said "If only trees gave out Wi-Fi signals, people would plant more trees. Unfortunately they only give out the Oxygen we need to breathe".
Go ahead. Plant a tree. Plant as many as you can. Plant one whenever you can. Get your friends, family and co-workers to do the same. It'll make you feel good for sure. If you're lucky, you'll even see it grow in your lifetime. Now, that would be an added bonus to your happiness.
Stay happy! :)
-Aakaash Nair.
(Oxygen Addict, Tree Hugger)
Originally written on 20.06.15
