I never got the chance to write about an important date that recently just passed - Earth Day. I was away for work that week, hoping to be back in Manila on Saturday, April 22nd to attend the Earth Day celebration at La Mesa Eco Park along with other Bahá'is. But even though I missed the event (which I heard turned out wonderful!), I enjoyed the day in a way I least expected - somewhere surrounded by mountains and forests, and well, with limited mobile signal.
No, this is not going to be one of those blogs that says Earth Day should be everyday - because truth is, there are times I forget to turn my lights off when I leave the room and there are times I keep the tap running while I brush my teeth. The good thing is that Earth Day isn'tjust one day because we have world wetlands day, world wildlife day, international day of forests, world water day, world environment day, world habitat day and so many more environmental dates to remind us all through the year that we need to stop and reflect.
Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'i Faith said, "Man is organic with the world. His inner life moulds the environment and is itself so deeply affected by it. The one acts upon the other and every abiding change int he life of man is the result of these mutual actions."
I was in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya for a few days and until the end, I still didn't get used to the view I woke up to and worked in every single day. The mountains, the hills, forests, the farm lands... I was absolutely overwhelmed. Although... while enjoying the fresh air and the verdant topography, I never forgot that the Philippines' forests are rapidly vanishing. While in awe of our company's water treatment plant, brainstorming ways to get more people connected to our water system, I remembered what the former COP of Be Secure once told me "we are running out of water."
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| I asked my colleague to be my handmodel while I took this picture at our Water Treatment Plant |
This so-called workation made the entire week leading up to Earth Day - Earth week because everything I witnessed and learned only deepened my appreciation and love for this place we call home - nope, not just one country, but the entire earth. While A LOT of our natural resources are still untouched, let's consider the ones that are being used up everyday. Who would have thought that human beings would turn rivers into something healthy for us to consume? We inject chemicals to make it odorless, colorless, tasteless - potable. How do you grasp this? Who would have thought that the tree the early men plucked apples from is now the chair you are sitting on? Every time I think science, I think God; every time I think God, I think science. This is one of the fundamental principles in the Bahá'i Faith - both science and religion must go hand in hand in order for civilization to advance. No wonder being surrounded by nature has a calming effect on us, physically and spiritually.
That one week in Solano was absolutely refreshing... I got more sleep, I drank more water than usual, and I soaked in lots of Vitamin D, and at the same time I found myself thanking God everyday because each time we drove by mountains and hills and farms, I remembered not to take the city life for granted. I'm pretty sure every country faces this - the main cities are polluted and over-populated, complete contrast to rural areas. City life has become so complex that even simple dwellers have it complicated. There is something about the verdant mountains and forests, fresh air and cool breeze (even under the scorching sun) that makes time go slowly, that makes it impossible for you to worry.
The Earth is alive. Yes, we hear it over and over again that we are using up our resources faster and more than we even need...BUT everywhere on Earth, there still remains a city, a town, a village somewhere not so far away from anywhere you are right now that's just sitting there reminding you that things don't have to continue the way they are. Somewhere near you is a reminder that the power to change the speed and direction of our consumption, our habits is in our hands. Earth Day is that special reminder that today is for us, but tomorrow is for someone else...the Earth could have been selfish, but it's not...so why are we to one another?
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| from Solano to Bambang |
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| Solano |
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| Solano |
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| Cordon, Isabela |
The following week, my workation destination was Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro. Even though the city is still very under-developed, that only means it's still a very quiet, laid-back, simple place...
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| Looking down the ferry at Batangas port. |
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| Some people live here! |
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| a woman drying corn and hanging clothes on her field |
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| my first time seeing a white carabao! |
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| I like this tree |
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| Mamburao people still don't know what this river has in store for them in the near future |
And to end this blog, I've put together four pictures in celebration of Earth Day - pictures I've taken on different parts of the Earth, in different conditions - celebrating the seas, mountains, the snow and the deserts.
"Blessed is the spot and the house and the place,
and the city and the heart and the mountain,
and the refuge and the cave and the valley
and the land and the sea and the island
and the meadow where mention of God hath been made and His praise glorified"
-Bahá'u'lláh
and the city and the heart and the mountain,
and the refuge and the cave and the valley
and the land and the sea and the island
and the meadow where mention of God hath been made and His praise glorified"
-Bahá'u'lláh