Sitting here with my laptop on my lap, in a made-natural environment, something pondered in my mind, have I being a ‘green-person’ already? What does it mean, being green? I wrote this with my laptop and think of the irony of it, the laptop doesn’t belong here. Have I ‘green’ enough?
I spent a night in a training center made as close as possible to nature. The rooms are spacious, with lots of windows and back door led to a wide open space. Open the back door in the morning and you’ll get sunshine, a view of Penanggungan Mountain, birds chirping and lots and lots of butterflies as a bonus. What a perfect morning to begin an activity. That is before the cell phone begins to ring. It ruined the whole perfect morning.
Lunch is arranged in another open space, overview green field, a large fish pond, and surrounded with ‘genitri’ trees, with a smell of freshly mowed lawns. In the quietest time, you’ll hear the chirps of the birds and splashes of swimming fish and of course the newest and up-to-date songs from an MP3. It ruined my lunch with nature.
The toilet is nice. It is modern yet it is made as natural as possible, with yellow bamboo and natural rocks and pebbles. And with a great system of dumping, by separating urine and human dump and re-cycle it as a fertilizer. At least that’s what I saw for the first day here. In a few hours, there are shampoo wrappers, tissues, toothpaste boxes, and so many more. Despite all the warnings on the bathroom wall which are put against any law in interior design. Either the warnings aren’t big enough or the people couldn’t read.
This is a different playground for Yonathan, our five year old. This is where he can feel the moist of the well-kept grass filled with morning dew on his bare feet, a place where he can run around the yard and falling into a soft and comforting thick grass. This is where he can watch closely and interestingly all kind beetles, caterpillar, butterflies’ wings, and ants carrying some bread crust on their head. As I am writing now, I am watching a spider is chasing a house-fly and a bee is flying on my right. It was an enriching experience. However, when Yo was about to lie down and call it a night, he complained about the quietness. It was so quiet in our room I could almost hear my own heart beat. And so, he fell asleep just after we turned on the TV. TV ruined my quiet night.
People, it seems, cannot live without TV, MP3, laptop, cell phones, and other gadgets that don’t belong here. Just like Yonathan, who cannot sleep because it was so quiet, we need a little disturbance in life. We are all aware that disturbance in life is just a stepping stone to make us a better person. There are so many books written just to make us feel better after failure. So, let’s not talk about it. All I am saying is that let’s stop for a moment and re-treat to nature. Ask yourself the same question I asked myself: Have I ‘green’ enough? Did I leave my cell phone, my laptop behind just to have a ‘date’ with nature? Did I appreciate the sound of splashing water and birds’ chirpings? Did I try hard to keep the environment clean, by not littering? What can I do for nature? I can’t organize a demonstration on environment. Sometimes I can’t differentiate an organic litter and un-organic garbage. I can’t tell people off. I don’t have the courage to do that. I’m too shy to talk to strangers. And I can’t even plant a tree!
But then I remember one saying: Start Small. Throw your litter into dustbin, and add few minutes to think which is the organic and which is not. Never pick flowers. Save water, don’t flush too much water. Limit the use of papers; use a whiteboard for a note instead of paper. Leave your gadget at home when visiting a nature friendly environment; bring my own hand towel as a substitute for a paper towel, and many more ‘small things’.
The problem now is how to give my 5-year-old boy an understanding; “why can’t we play with the sprinkle, mom?” “Why we have to limit the use of water?” “When can I play water?” “Playing water is fun!” “Where is water come from anyway?” “Why throw the tissue into the green basket and the crisp packet into red one?” “What is an organic waste anyway?” “Why it is red/green?” “What makes a plastic bottle inorganic?” and of course, “What did the hotel do with the TV?” “Could you put some music on, please, mum, I can’t sleep”
The way I see it, it is nothing small…
