China's Hit and Run

I'm horrified beyond words to see the video of the little Chinese girl who was run over twice and ignored by passers by. I think this would or should make any human stop and think. Where exactly are we going, what are we doing that's making us so hard and apathetic. Even animals are not quite as hard- the story about a dog guarding an abandoned baby and guarding a fellow dog, or of dolphins saving a surfer from a shark. What's wrong with us humans?

We need to start learning how to care about one another and the planet again. Too many of us are too self centered and focused on just trying to improve our own lives, get rich, and find "happiness" at the expense and suffering of countless other people. The result of this type of lifestyle and mentality is shown in the video of this little girl.  This is of course, an extreme example. An example which, I hope, will really open our eyes to the need to look for the truth which will set  us free from selfishness and hard heartedness.

Be like a Tree

I've always believed that many, many lessons can be learned from nature. For example, a tree.
Trees have over 22 major functions from cleaning the air and providing good oxygen to helping soften the rain before it reaches the ground so that the plants below can survive.  It also provides food, shelter, shade, and so many other things to both humans and animals/insects. 

Tolerance
Most trees are also friendly. I mean, there are a few nasty thorn trees out there- but it's good that most trees are actually nice. And just think of it- trees don't complain when we come and get their fruits. Nor do they complain if we saw off one of their branches, or even most of their branches and leave them with a mere stump. Trees are tolerant, withstanding great heat, rain, wind, animals living in them, people- well, doing all kinds of things to them.

Giving
In relation to what I said above- well, trees are the epitome of selflessness and giving. I mean, most people would die if they were chopped in half. Trees just grow right back up. Fruits, branches, leaves, wood- all taken away- they keep growing and keep giving as long as they're given a chance to recover. Not very many people could say the same thing.

A friend of mine made the analogy of being like trees. There are some people who are all thorns. They don't give, they don't care, and love to just make everyone else feel miserable because they're miserable. I'm sure we've all had the unfortunate experience of running into these kind of people. (I'm sorry if I've been one sometimes!) Then there are those people who are just wonderful. They don't judge, they love, don't have airs, and have so many gifts to share. I hope one day I'll become more and more like a tree- and not a thorny one!

Have a nice week!

-Tree Frog










 

The day after

It’s a normal day at the ocean today but for some reason a lot of plastics washed up on the shore today.

I’m still recovering from my sickness. I’m itching to do some relief work. I feel so sorry for all my fellow Filipinos whose homes are inundated by the floods from the two typhoons this past week. 

Quiel was quite intense here too- but mostly wind. Aside from a few broken windows (the locks broke during the typhoon) and a wind-withered garden, nothing much else happened. I was surprised we didn’t lose any trees.  Lucky we hardly got any rain on this side. It would have been devastating if we had equally strong wind and rain. 

The ocean was surprisingly reserved in the wind. By the late afternoon everything had calmed down. The beach was sculpted anew, and quite clean.

Yesterday morning I got up quite early. The Kingfishers are always noisy at 5 am, and it was no different. They were announcing  a fairly clear day ahead and were obviously pleased to be alive. It seemed so still and peaceful. There were onshore and offshore breezes blowing steadily. Everything was bright and clean- except for the fence, which was gray with all the sand blown on it from the day before. The migrating birds were busy trying to make up for the lost time. 

There were so many different types of birds – big, small, dark and white, all flying south. The bigger birds seemed to have a harder time flying against the wind because they have to fly higher. The smaller birds stayed as close as they could to the ocean, dipping low with the trough of the waves and flying right over the white wash and spray. The determination of birds is quite admirable. 

As the sun started coming out the blue-gray horizon and the ocean’s hues were accentuated. The first kilometer or so was brown because of the water coming in from the rivers. Further out, different shades of aqua, dark green, and blue green, dotted with disappearing and reappearing white peaks from the wind. 

The beauty of nature is amazing, awe inspiring. But once we start messing around with nature, we feel her wrath.