The
most important group of wise men were assembled in the outskirts of
the city. These were really wise , because they had dedicated their
lives to contemplate, admire and appreciate the harmony of this world.
The reason of the meeting was, that in the last hundred years, the
destruction of Nature had hastened and they wanted to build a monument
to call the attention of everybody. They wanted to deliver the necessary message
to take care, of the Earth and Nature. Not only
with comments but with actions. It was necessary to show, that there was
a feeling, a commitment, to that purpose, in order to have a change.
Since, the wise men were admitting that it was increasing the damage,
maltreatment, extinction and garbage.
Because
tomorrow and later: what would we have left as a planet, as home ?
Then, the wise men decided to do a contest, in order to motivate young
people and adults, to live in a world of peace and harmony with
Nature.
It was agreed that those who could fulfill the requirements,
would be recognized as wise persons compromised with the real life.
It
happened that many went to the contest and delivered big speeches, wanting to be recognized as an authority in the matter. It may have
been that to be called wise man captivated them, more than the project per
se.
And many brought sculptures, poems, poetry; they all were compromised
somehow but there was always shining in some of them, the conceited desire
to be chosen like the best. And, of course, this contest was, very unique
and some of the contestants were almost ready, to wear the crown.
Many
came with medals, horses, musical bands, to the point, that the spirit of
the contest was somewhat lost. Because it was a large field but there
were a lot of papers, bottles, bags, newspapers, leftovers, vehicles; we
could say that 30% was a big fiasco. And on top, another group was
formed, who were protesting against the first group. Overall, the
convention lasted three days and the damage caused was not repaired for
thirty days. All the expositions were reviewed and the comments were
good but many persons were not consistent, like one who spoke
with beautiful words but was wearing leather, while saying: "Let's love
animals"
There was a
committee of refined ladies, who promised to contribute many millions
while wearing fur coats. Then, many miners, people in the construction
business and people whose business was to cut down trees came, with the
idea of collaborating with money but with the purpose of receiving some
recognition. Truly, there was nobody to pick but the organizers tried to
solve this problem, by saying that there was a draw and to solve the
situation, they would accept another person, who was not recommended,
who did not have millions. Then, they looked for and found another
person. There were two contestants who were very rich, were highly
recommended and they had their fans. And one of then was asked:
"
What
do you feel in front of so much damage caused to our Nature?"
And
the man said:
"Our corporation
will contribute millions for the investigation of the forestation and
the study of all the beautiful wood and species, in order to establish
a self supportive mechanism, that assures to these species,
a habitat, reservations zoos, scientific investigation and
development."
He received some applause.
Another contestant seemed very philosophical, very enthusiastic and
said:
"The first thing to do is for man, not to mix with Nature so we will
build a big wall and we will bring an army that will take care of the
area and they will fine or sent to jail the ones who dump trash
or
make a mess."
He also added: "If we are not careful, we will be left without a
planet." He had some approval.
The turn came
for the third contestant and he was supposed to be asked again but since he did not seem
to be an important person, they just asked: "What do you feel?"
And he said: "I see Nature and all her inhabitants as my father, mother,
brothers, even more, I see Nature as my heart, hands, eyes, feet. In the
mountains, I see my grandparents and hopes, which I will reach someday
by virtue of my faith on life; in the rivers, I see the satiated thirst
of men, women and children; I see the purity, the gentleness of my
mother breast feeding me; in the earth, I see my home, the womb of my
mother, the children being born, I see the blooming of life."
He had not finished talking
and they interrupted him
because his speech was very different than the others. They hurried him,
even more, they mistreated him, saying: "Be specific, say something and
finish."
And they asked him again: "What do you feel?"
And he answered: " When I see my mother suffering and her children
dying, I feel sadness, a very deep sadness, as a root that is withering,
and I cry when I see a cut down tree, thinking about how many wasted
years. If you want me to sum up my feelings, I will say that I feel a
tear in the deepest part of my being." After he said those words, the
public immediately took sides, like the created interests, the
laboratories companies, who did not understand, but the natural persons,
gave him a continuous ovation.
It was so much that this brought an end to the tie and a monument was
chosen, that showed a man raising a withered, dried flower to the sky and
he was surrounded by cut down trees, dead animals and the man had
many tears in his face. There was also an inscription that said: " Let's
never reach the point of having to cry, for what we have lost and will
never come back" And next to the monument, they planted what would be a
forest, that also had another inscription: " You are welcome, man, because
you are one with Nature. Let's live in harmony and peace. Let's serve one
to the other, because that is the path to eternity."
Thus, a
great truth was found and it was recognized great authority and wisdom in
this natural, unaffected man.
