Our World and Plan B

 

I have been watching the Netflix documentary series “Our Great National Parks” hosted and narrated by Barack Obama. There are five episodes and so far I’ve watched three, which include inaccessible ‘stone’ forests in Madagascar, rain forests, the Great Barrier Reef, the Patagonian national park in Chile and Tsavo park in Kenya.

Pic from the documentary

Apart from the outstanding beauty of these natural spaces and the efforts to maintain them, there is of course the soothing quality of Obama’s baritone voice. His voice inspires trust and confidence. We want to listen to what he has to say. We believe him. We want to do better for our planet, which, of course, is the whole point of this documentary series.

He tells us of the great importance of preserving our rain forests, because – a quarter of all our medicines originated in rain forests. And the secrets to a cure for cancer could lie here, in the depths of these forests; in the sloth who takes a month to digest a leaf and so takes his time choosing just the right one; in the chemicals that the sloth emits off its back.

The scenes of the night sky in Patagonia are breathtaking, with millions of stars, the Milky Way, the glow of other planets and galaxies visible.

It had me thinking – if we were to see a night sky like this every day, surely there would be less crime, less hate, less pollution in the world, less grabbing for what is mine but cannot be yours.

How could there not be, when faced with such magnificence? How could we not realize how small and insignificant we really are? It would be a daily lesson in humility, a reminder in a world that keeps shouting at us how great and amazing we are, encouraging us to take up as much space as we can, make our presence felt, look out for number one.

That night sky – a reminder to us – not so important, not as amazing as the world we live in. A small blip of life in this great universe, doing the best we can, someday to disappear and make room for someone else to come along and hopefully do a good job, a better job, of living.

I’ve often thought, while travelling on a plane and looking down at miniature houses, miniature roads, miniature cars , how all those people down there, with their big problems and big worries, are really all people with small problems and small worries, if viewed from that perspective high above.

Obama reminds us – the bigger the parks we preserve, the more species can exist there and the more diversity, thus securing a future for nature on our planet.

In the Tsavo park segment we see how hippos bring natural fertilizer to bodies of water, how they balance the eco-system, even inviting fish inside their gaping jaws to forage for food. A transaction based on trust. There is much of this – give and take in an effort to thrive and survive in the natural world. There is also aggression.

At a watering hole where a variety of animals are peacefully grazing and sipping, the arrival of beliggerent male rhinos creates chaos and immediately shifts the mood from calm to mayhem. Aggressive males – not just in our society but also in the natural world – upsetting the delicate balance of being, putting their needs above all else.

Mother Nature, in all her glory, is not kind and is not unkind. She just is.

I still have a couple of episodes to watch. And yet, and yet, even while I marvel at the beauty, realize the importance of preserving the natural splendour of the wide open spaces of our planet, the variety of wild life, I dream of getting on a plane, travelling to explore another part of the world. And in the process, increasing my carbon footprint, being human.

We use the term ‘we are only human’ to justify our failings, our shortfalls, yet we see ourselves as the most superior species on this planet, even in this universe.

What if we could look at that night sky in Patagonia every day?

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And a poem, not related to the post above. Or maybe it is.

Plan B

Do you have a Plan B and if that’s so

Is it based on your curiosity?

How wide is the gap, how far must you go

From where you are to where you want to be.

Your Plan A, you know it no longer fits

Left behind, in a trailing wake and spate

Of dust and debris, particles and bits

Of visions that do not now carry weight.

The future is empty, it’s yours to fill

Blank canvas, awaiting what you create

It’s always been so, no guarantees still

Uncertainty is the ultimate fate.

    What’s your Plan B? Do something small today

    Close the gap. Your Plan B is now Plan A.

                                     Pearl Richard