My Writing Life: Gaia's Own: Every Child's Guide to Living in Harmony with Nature

“If you truly get in touch with a piece of carrot, you get in touch with the soil, the rain, the sunshine. You get in touch with Mother Earth, and eating in such a way, you feel in touch with true life, your roots, and that is meditation. If we choose every morsel of food in that way we become grateful, and when you are grateful, you are happy.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

The delightful exchange of letters between a grandfather and his empathetic grandchild can teach us a lot about life. Gratitude is the essence of a happy existence, because it means that we take nothing for granted.

Gratitude was at the heart of many ancient cultures, including the ancient Celtic wisdom, which I wrote about in my previous post. Gaia teaches us this basic concept everyday, when we live in harmony with Mother Nature, but when the norm is to ignore basic principles of reciprocity, we abuse other living beings and the environment, and we harm everybody in the process.

When we are thankful, we don’t take more than what we need. The troubles of humanity are the consequences of taking too much from Mother Nature—Gaia—and not giving back.

Today I am honored to write about Gaia’s Own, a book by Dharshana Bajaj, a writer and artist from India. In the exchange of letters between Satvika and her grandpa, a wildlife photographer, we gain insights and learn facts. Above all, we are inspired to make choices that support our authentic self, health and Mother Nature. Some people live under the delusion of separation. This book will help them to dissolve such a delusion.

This is an educational, thorough and entertaining read that will guide every child and teenager toward an existence of love and health. It will encourage them to get creative as well, to respond to the challenges they will be facing throughout their lives.

I highly recommend Gaia’s Own: Every Child’s Guide to Living in Harmony with Nature to educators and parents.

Children have the potential to understand things better. Unlike adults, they are not detached from their environment and the truth about how everything is connected. Fostering their inquisitve minds should be part of their education; it is important to cultivate curiosity along with compassion, instead of stifling them. This is why this book should be shared widely in schools. Our future depends on it.

Leonardo Da Vinci was ahead of his times when he developed the idea of harnessing solar power. His authenticity was fully expressed through painting, writing, architecture, engineering and ideas that continue to be relevant today. A rigid mindset would have restrained his creative power, but Da Vinci’s works required an open-minded approach to learn continuously and thrive.

I learned a lot from this comprehensive book (Gaia’s Own). I did not know that countries like Paraguay, Albania and Iceland only use renewable sources of energy to satisfy their electricity needs. I did not know that India is the world’s third largest producer of renewable energy (solar, wind, small hydro, bio-power).

I was thrilled to know that farmers in Japan managed to save the cranes from extinction through their caring thoughtful actions:

https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/trying-to-save-the-red-crowned-cranes-of-japan

We all play a role in healing the planet through conscious efforts, creative ideas and mindful choices. There is a massive extinction crisis going on, and those who believe that it will not affect humanity are choosing a path of dangerous denial. This is happening right now. If the deniers truly understood how we are all interconnected, they would fathom that the survival of humanity is at stake.

“If you really think the environment is less important than the economy, try holding your breath while you count your money.” Guy R. McPherson.

800 million people go hungry everyday in our planet. Yet thirty percent of the world’ s food is trashed. In the USA alone, 40 millions tons of food are wasted every year. The Global Hunger Index is calculated based on the number of people who are undernourished and the number of children under five who are underweight. Congo, Haiti, Zambia, Yemen, Madagascar, Burundi and Chad have the highest scores ( between 30 and 40). India has a score of 26. Somalia has the highest score: 50

On the other hand, all these countries are on the receiving end of tons of electronic waste dumped into them by some of the most developed countries, like USA, Britain and Germany, so in addition to dealing with hunger, they contend with pollution from outside sources.

This book brings to our consciousness issues that are routinely ignored. Raising awareness on the intricate ways through which we are all connected is necessary to inspire people to make responsible choices and to develop new sustainable solutions.

Those who work on the update of technologies should also be tackling the problems of sustainability in technology as a fundamental component of it. Overconsumption destroys lives; greed kills. We have destroyed the balance that allows us to live in harmony with Mother Nature.

We need to restore this balance.

We cannot extricate ourselves from reality, no matter how hard they try to distract us with trips to the moon and to other planets.

“Trees are the oldest life forms on earth, making up over 80 percent of the global biomass. They provide millions with nourishment. We get our wood, herbs, medicine from trees. Trees hold the soil in place, preventing soil erosion and landslides. They help in carbon sequestration and produce oxygen we all need to make life possible. They reduce air pollution, heat and gases that cause the greenhouse effect. They are home to millions of animals, insects and birds.”

Healthy forests are necessary for the oceans as well, and I explained it when I reviewed To Speak for the Trees. Without healthy forests, we will annihilate the fish, the whales, the dolphins…

With the burning of fossil fuels, which is also responsible for the production of plastic, we disrupt the health of forests and oceans. Industrialization has led to an exponential increase of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere. A simple graph shows the increase over time. These gases trap heat.

By the same token, this increase correlates with the rise of global temperatures and climate change.

My simple question is this: does anybody believe that we will survive as a species after destroying the ecosystems of Mother Nature?

I cherish Satvika’s grandfather’s wisdom, and I hope it will reach many hearts and minds across the world.

“We are all interconnected with each other and everything else in Nature, so keep doing what you can. Spend as much time in Nature as you can and love her more. For she is you.”