Nature
"Echoes of the Silent Moon"
In a world where the sky was no longer blue but a muted gray, and the moon held more power than the sun, the ancient city of Nydra stood as a beacon of forgotten secrets. Nestled between towering mountains and a darkened sea, Nydra was a place where the past and present danced in the shadows, and where the Silent Moon held sway over the fate of all who dwelled beneath its light.
By Doris J Palma2 years ago in Earth
The Soil In which We Grow
In order for any plant to grow and flourish to its full potential, it needs the right conditions. The soil is all important. Everything grows in the soil. If the soil is good and you have the right amount of sunshine and water everything takes care of itself. Nature follows its own course. We don’t need to interfere. The tiny acorn grows into the majestic Oak tree. Would the same Oak tree grow in a desert? Would it flourish in a tiny plant pot? What if the soil is barren and polluted? It is no different for human beings. In order for us to grow and flourish to our full potential, we need the right conditions. In our case, you could think of society as the soil in which we grow. What do I mean when I say “society”? I mean it in the broadest possible sense: our families, our communities, our schools, our friends, our government institutions, our laws, our offices, our work, our recreational spaces, our culture… the world in which we live. Does our society provide the optimum conditions for human growth and development? Is each person afforded the appropriate conditions which will allow them to flourish… to become what they were always naturally inclined to become: an artist, a farmer, a carer, an entertainer, a thinker, a writer, a scientist, a mother, a teacher, an explorer? Is our society more akin to an industrial farm where only one or two crops are considered to be of value? Where rainforests are chopped down to make room for the profitable, consumable crops. Where any inclination towards being an artist or an explorer or a philosopher is suppressed in favour of something more practical… maybe an accountant or a tax consultant or a banker? Not that there’s anything at all wrong with those professions if that’s what you love to do. Does society make it easy for a person to discover what their talent is and does it enable them to cultivate that talent? Is that what school does or in a sense does our current education system do the exact opposite? Does it teach children to question and think for themselves or does it teach them to memorise facts and conform? Think back to when you were very young. What did you love to do back then? What were you really interested in? Maybe it’s so long ago you find it difficult to remember. Did you have a natural inclination towards something? Were you one of the lucky ones and did you always follow this interest throughout your life or did you stop for some reason? Was it suppressed? When did it become very important to “fit in” and please other people? When did you become pragmatic? When did safety become the most important thing? When did earning lots of money, owning material things and being “successful” become the dream? What is success? Were you ever empowered to follow your real dream or did it always seem unrealistic and unfeasible to do that? Were you ever asked what it is you would really like to do with your life? Have you ever considered these questions before?
By Uzma Halepoto 2 years ago in Earth
Hurricane Milton Evacuation Zones: What You Need to Know as Florida Prepares for a Historic Storm. AI-Generated.
As Hurricane Milton rapidly intensifies into a Category 4 storm with sustained winds reaching 150 miles per hour, communities across Florida are on high alert. With the hurricane expected to make landfall near the Tampa Bay area, the state is gearing up for one of the most extensive evacuations in recent history( livescience.com )(WUSF ).
By Matty Stash2 years ago in Earth
The Lost Time Traveler
David was in his childhood backyard, repairing the scent of the freshly cut grass in his senses. The soft voice of laughter came from the kitchen window and his mother was in the kitchen, alive and well, making dinner. His heart raced. He hadn’t been here in over twenty years, yet everything looked exactly as he remembered.
By Raja Sumaria Khan2 years ago in Earth
Top 10 River In The World
### 1. **Nile River** The Nile, frequently promoted as the longest stream on the planet, extends around 6,650 kilometers (4,130 miles) through northeastern Africa. It courses through eleven nations, including Uganda, Sudan, and Egypt, prior to purging into the Mediterranean Ocean. By and large, the Nile was the backbone of old Egyptian human progress, giving water, rich land, and a method for transportation. Its yearly flooding saved supplement rich sediment along its banks, making farming conceivable in a generally bone-dry district.
By Md Sabbir Hossen2 years ago in Earth
Nature is a Best Teacher
A number of years ago I went on holiday to a beautiful part of Portugal. We stayed in a converted farmhouse in the middle of a national park. The farmhouse was in a valley. We arrived in the evening when the birds were just starting to roost. It was still warm and the air smelled sweet with pollen. You could hear the hum of crickets. A small river flowed through that valley. We opened a rickety gate and crossed a small wooden bridge. As we walked along the narrow path that led to our house I had a clear vision of what my morning routine would be like for the next fourteen days. I had been working hard for the last few months and I felt tired. I wanted this holiday to be a mini retreat. I would wake up early each day when it was still quite cool and I would meditate for a while. I imagined myself sitting in a peaceful spot, my mind calm, my body relaxed… listening to the river flowing, hearing the birds and wildlife starting to stir, feeling the first rays of the early morning sun hit my face as it rose over the top of the hill. Present. Even as I write this now, it sounds like paradise to me. I work up early the next morning and it was just as I imagined it would be. There is nothing like the stillness of the early morning. There was a gentle, peaceful feeling that enveloped me. It didn’t come from me but seemed to come from the earth and the river and the mountains. Everything was clearer than usual. The mind wasn’t racing here and there the way it normally does. I had never been to this place before but it felt welcoming and familiar. I found a spot to sit quietly. I could hear the faint hum of insects. The air was very still and there was only an occasional gentle breeze. A fly landed on my face. After a moment or two I carefully lifted my hand and gently ushered him away. Then another fly landed on my face. And another. And another. The feeling I had experienced a few moments ago was gone. I endured thirty minutes or so of mild torture that first morning before I admitted defeat and retreated to the farmhouse. In the ensuing days I experimented with different approaches. I went to a different spot to try and escape the flies. I went at different times of the day. I had been practicing meditation for many years already and I had dealt with all kinds of distractions and obstacles in the past. I was sure that this would be no different. I had heard lots of stories and parables about similar experiences where the “lesson” is: “Your resistance to things not being the way you want them to be is the real source of your suffering. Drop your resistance. Drop your attachment to things being a certain way”. Words. I had repeated these same words to others many times. The words made sense to me and I believed them. I said these words to myself now. I tried to feel compassion for each fly that landed on me. I tried to change my perspective. I tried to simply experience the movements of each fly as pure sensation on my skin. I reminded myself that flies are an important part of the ecosystem and tried to appreciate each fly. I was lying to myself. Things weren’t going the way I wanted them to. I really hated those flies. I just felt irritated and tense. I was in a constant state of vigilance…waiting for the next fly to land on my skin, knowing that I would have to “mindfully” endure its presence for as long as possible until finally, when I could take no more, I would choose to “mindfully” flick it away… knowing also that in a few moments it would inevitably return. I thought about abandoning my plan to practice outside in nature and moving inside to the farmhouse. I’m stubborn though and I endured several more mornings of mental torture. The fact that I couldn’t drop my resistance to things being a certain way was making things worse. I was also annoyed with myself now. The more I “tried” to be patient and accepting about the flies, the worse I felt. All this effort was adding unnecessary layers of suffering to my experience. More words. I already knew this. I had heard this advice many times in the past: “Stop making effort. When you practice just allow everything to be exactly as it is.”
By Uzma Halepoto 2 years ago in Earth
