Dreams of the Future

Beltane
New York

It was my friend Desi’s birthday and my friend Kiri and I were sleeping over at her house. We were originally going to sleep in the camper her uncle owns, but the summer night was warm and it quickly became stuffy so we took our sleeping bags and marched out of the camper. The country air filled our lungs and the warmth of the air was moved by the breeze. The night sky was erased of clouds; all we could see were stars. We lay there, just looking up at them. I felt as one with Mother Earth. I felt safe being so near to her.

But then, a rumbling over the road a few dozen yards away — a car — disrupted my spiritual connection. Then it came to me: we humans are a parasite infecting the universe. I started to think aloud. People have always wondered if there is more intelligent life than us humans out there. Sitting there, in the beauty of that night, I was forced to wonder, what if the universe was created for beauty? What if we were actually created to bring beauty to the universe? We could be the prize trophy of beauty.

But look at what we’ve done. We’ve built factories that spew toxic fumes and gases into the air. We’ve t hreatened the ozone layer. Careless mistakes have caused oil to leak into the ocean, killing wildlife. We’ve wiped out species of plants and animals, and caused others to become endangered. As if poisoning Earth, our only home, isn’t enough, we’re now sending ourselves into space, seeing if we can live there once we destroy our present home. We are a cancer that can’t be stopped. We’re spreading t hroughout the universe, polluting everything we touch, and thinking of it as an accomplishment. If there is life out there, I know the reason why they don’t contact us. They loathe us; we destroy the beauty that the universe was created for.

I was saying all this out loud. But then Kiri, who I thought was asleep, threw her pillow at me and told me to stop being so depressing. So I lay back on the ground, allowing the sounds and smells of the earth to flow into my soul. Even though my mouth stayed silent, my mind continued to wander, until I fell into the waiting arms of sleep.

The Final Verdict

Khushboo Banka
Calcutta, India

Beyond the horizon, on the edge of destruction, stands Mother Nature. She waits for the final verdict from her own children. Yes, humans.

Artwork by Amanda Paige, 15, Florida

A few million years ago when Nature became a mother to the thousands of species among us today, she did not think her own children would be her murderers. But how could her children forget that without her they will not survive, either? Who will take care of them? Where will they go? How will they breathe? Will they try to change their destiny? Nothing is certain, but one thing is for sure: if she dies, they die too, because humans are incomplete without Mother Nature.

Even after creating all the beauties on the earth, she felt empty. So she created different kinds of beings and put life into them. Soon she made her masterpiece, “humans,” and gifted them with a brain. This brain gave them supremacy over all living beings. She warned them to use their unique gift for the benefit of all her creations. But slowly man became overcome with greed, power, and hunger for supremacy. This spelled doom for all.

Now Mother Nature stands, head hanging, ready to be cut off at any moment, sobbing with pain and grieving over the destruction of her Earth by her dearest children. If only she could change it all.

Let’s make a vow today that we won’t let our Mother shed a single tear, ever again.

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