“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now.”
A powerful statement that triggers both frustration and persistence, frustration for missing what we should have done, and persistence to want to wake up and do something about it.
A lot of damage has been caused, and still is, by each one of us, (unwillingly or unconsciously at times) towards “mother” earth, but it is still called a damage. And as the saying goes “Realizing a mistake is the first step to overcoming and fixing it”.
Did we try reflecting on our hourly actions and how they’re affecting the earth we live on and by and thanks to?
Did we try giving earth a gift back, for all the gifts she is giving us?
Did we try looking beyond our instant worldly concerns, reaching out to the bigger picture, the source of our well-being and of our children and next generations to come? Did we think about the legacy we want to keep for them?
Reflecting on all this made me want to talk about it, write about it, then get up and take an action on ground.
So far, 2150 pine trees were planted this year across a village in Mount Lebanon (where I was bon and still live till the date, Dahrel souwan), I still like to call it a village although the concrete and asphalt have killed almost every authentic aspect of the village concept, I still like to believe it’s a village, maybe because of the rooted nostalgia and longing to the pure childhood and air I breathed, to the magical mystical alleys and places that had us playing, exploring, wandering and enlightening our souls in the woods.
Where have the woods gone? Where has the imagination evaporated? Where has the innocent wilderness of youth vanished? Where has the pure connection to nature and its sacred beauty disappeared and where will my soul wander for enlightenment?
Maybe the 2150 trees that I planted will return flashbacks of my lingering longing to all that.
Maybe it will inspire people around me, or you, who are reading this, to want to do something about it too…
If you have missed the chance 20 years ago, could today be your second best chance?
Diana Maatouk