Are we minful in our ways?
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
After reading my previous blog - What is the invention that changed your life?, my friend opinionated – “Google map is indeed good, but we are missing on the personal interactions we used to have with strangers on the road. We used to gather a lot of knowledge about the locality and people unknowingly during such conversations.” So true…
This got me thinking are we mindful in our ways and lifestyle?
Think about it, are we mindful of the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat? Our ancestors could decipher the time of day by looking at the position of the sun, could predict whether it will rain or not today, used to treat ailments using plants and live in sync with nature that they understood their environment quite well.
Today we know the air is bad if the Air Quality Index goes over 100, water is bad when our hair starts falling while taking a shower and food is bad when we get a bad stomach.
While shifting to a new city for a job, we are enticed by the opportunity that hardly do we bother about the living conditions. While searching for an apartment, we are more worried about the parking space for our vehicles than the water quality. And who has the time to even look at the food while checking office mails in a hurry for office?
Indeed we are experts in the latest technologies and crypto trading, but- Is air, water and food secondary?
In his book titled 'Veerappan – Chasing the Brigand', the author K Vijayakumar a former IPS officer writes some interesting observations which helped the police force find the hideouts of the gangsters. In one instance, a police officer known for his sharp observations concludes the escaped victim was shot in the abdomen by looking at the texture of the blood. In another instance, the Adivasi community deduced strangers are living in the forest by pointing out the human excreta in the dense forests. Apparently, the local community eats millets and other grains which makes their stool brown, whereas it will be yellow in colour with the rice eaters.
Do we know the sowing and harvesting season of fruits and veggies? Do we know the ayurvedic remedies our grandmas used to administer for the small ailments? Do we know the medicinal properties of plants around us? Do we know how to take care of plants? Do we know to differentiate between organic supplies from the rest? I am ashamed to say I know none of these.
Are we missing the many extraordinary signals of mother nature? I think the time is ripe to start thinking.
