Joseph

A Reflection on Green Grass

Revd Dr. M. J. Joseph, Devalokam, Kottayam

There is a Javanese folk story. In a forest, there were three trees- a coconut tree, a clove tree and a sacred banyan tree. For the Javanese each of them is important. The clove tree is an important crop, the coconut tree is a source of food and the banyan tree is a sacred tree worshipped by the Javanese. Each of the trees began to boast of his/her own strength and power. The clove tree said: “I am the most valuable tree because I am source of wealth for many farmers”. The coconut tree also had made its trumpet. “I am the tallest tree. I can see everything in the forest. Next the Banyan tree began to boast of its existence. “I am the most powerful tree among all plants. People worship me every Thursday, asking me for help in whatever they do”. After the trees finished their boasting, they asked the grass what attributes it possessed. The grass replied, “I know nothing of power and wealth. When I start to grow, people just cut me down. Animals trample upon me and defecate on me. I am always humiliated. I am considered a useless plant.

In the same after noon, a violent storm came tearning down and destroying all the trees. Only the grass survived the disaster. It was the only plant, which was able to sustain life and generate the development of other life in the forest. The common people, the least and the last are resilient and they form the basic structure of society. The spirituality of the least is the basis for the survival of al living beings on the planet-Earth. Grass, grass everywhere! It is green My eyes feast on the greenery of the grass What a wonderful sight all around! It is the symbol of the ordinary It represents the feeble and the least. Think for a while Its usefulness and legacy. It is the ordinary who helps the mighty to celebrate life. It is the small that makes a difference in the life of the big. In times of rain and storms, the grass keeps its strength The big trees fall The flower of adorable plants scatter! The fragrance of Jasmine flowers disappears The carpet of the Mother Earth remains the same. The pride of the big tree is gone when it falls The humility of the grass becomes a lesson for the posterity. In times of good and bad seasons Let me carry the tag of simplicity and humility in the New Year.

Climate Change Quotes:

“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” — Albert

Einstein

“Twenty-five years ago, people could be excused for not knowing much, or doing much, about climate change. Today we have no excuse.” — Desmond Tutu

“We must face up to an inescapable reality: the challenges of sustainability simply overwhelm the adequacy of our responses. With some honorable exceptions, our responses are too few, too little, and too late.” — Kofi A. Annan

“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

“As human beings, we are vulnerable to confusing the unprecedented with the improbable. In our everyday experience, if something has never happened before, we are generally safe in assuming it is not going to happen in the future, but the exceptions can kill you, and climate change is one of those exceptions.” – Al Gore

“There is no question that climate change is happening; the only arguable point is what part humans are playing in it.” – David

Attenborough

“The shift to a cleaner energy economy won’t happen overnight, and it will require tough choices along the way. But the debate is settled. Climate change is a fact.”- Barack Obama

“The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for.” – Ernest

Hemingway

“God gave us the earth, to till and to keep in a balanced and respectful way.”- Pope Francis