I used to illustrate to children about the need to drink water, and not just juice and other beverages alone, by showing these two photographs.
Once a father very pleased with its impact on his son, called me on the phone to thank me and explained to me about the water replenishment cycle in the plants. He was a professor of Botany. One aspect particularly interested me much.
The plants absorb just enough in a diurnal cycle. It draws from the soil according to its
need for each day. Although it stores water in its stem, branches and leaves, the reserve can last in dry conditions only for a few days. It is rooted in soil which is its only source for water, which is also the only source of water for all other plants, trees, humans, etc. It is satisfied with its due share.
Those plants in pots, are at risk, as the plant cannot reach out beyond the pot. It is dependent on the gardener to provide its daily need. It is vulnerable to water depletion when the rain or the gardener fail.
There is a message for all of us form this. There is measure beyond which none of need to accumulate or earn material resources. This is counter to the culture of wanting more and more and spending a life time to earn and yet not be fully satisfied. We invite peace in to our lives by contentment.
The other message is that the gardener will not fail to remember us. When I went to work in a new institution, I wondered what office support I would have. The secretary, who was a fresh graduate, surprised me by her commitment, care for children and families and diligence at work. It was her habit to go a second mile unasked for. She was a provision beyond my expectation.
Humans need messages that will free us from addictive tendencies.
M.C.Mathew (text and photos)
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