Oh, beautiful, beloved forests—living entities—possessing true identities!
The beautiful African rainforest has a sister across the Atlantic Ocean. The equally beautiful South American forest, the Amazon, is what they call her.
I remember the mythical tribe of warrior women in ancient Greece too.
Metaphorically, ‘Amazon’ suggests qualities of self-reliance, strength, independence, and assertiveness.
That, to me, is also what the beautiful forests represent.
As I worked on the canvas, I saw small pockets of human settlements in the forest, with fires burning into the night to keep the humans warm. I was happy for them. I could almost hear the voices of children playing around the bonfires. The smell of local food being cooked pervaded the rooms in my mind.
The little fires kept flickering through the spectrum of the Amazon’s colors as the darkness of the night settled.
The question in my mind, however, was, Can humans find a balance in the future?’.
Will the little fires necessary for the coexistence of humans in the forest become fires that destroy these forests?
Will man succumb to greed and deplete these luscious, fertile entities to create the castles they have built in their minds?
Will man understand that destroying them ultimately will destroy humanity itself? Why one may ask?
These beauties, our rainforests, act as essential carbon sinks, absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon dioxide and helping mitigate climate change.
Do they know that rainforests also support biodiversity, nurturing and hosting a vast array of plant and animal species, many of which are not found elsewhere?
If only man understood the role these gifts of nature play in water cycle regulation and maintaining the regional and global water balance.
I smiled.. cautiously! Because I know that even if man destroys the forest, which in turn destroys humanity, the greater likelihood is that another forest will grow there over many decades.
Mother Nature, who birthed them, will most probably ensure this happens.
But another question arose in my mind. ‘Will man actually have the same second chance to return to the earth and the forest?
Can we afford to let the voices of our children cease because of our adult greed?
I did not have a ready answer for that. Do you?
I left the canvas to dry.