The three Rs to hold onto

R is a beautiful alphabet.  It stands tall reminding us of many key words that hold important place in this era. R for recycling – we have been hearing about it for a while.  While we do not have an infrastructure to recycle most of the products yet, there are many ways we can recycle some of the commodities that pass through our hands to dustbin. Someone in Cameroon has come up with the idea of making boats out of plastic bottles, while a Tanzanian recycling plant has gone on to use plastic bottles to create face shields and hospitals could not be happier. Earth must be letting out a sigh of relief as well for that many bottles are not going to enter the ocean to suffocate it.  But there is a newcomer in the shores floating on the waves back and forth and you might notice it at times entangled around your foot.  It is supposed to have been a shield to protect one-self and others but now it is abandoned where so many others have come to take in the energy and fresh air. This is where the other ‘R’ comes in – Responsibility.  Sure enough we must be excited than ever before to come out to the beach after the lockdown, especially with other beaches still beyond access.  People have been rushing to nature to take a break but we have proven that we have not changed much.  Just after the sun has gone beneath the horizon, a walk on the shore reveals what people had at the picnic.  Would we do that at home – let bottles, chips bags and other snack covers leave around and not to forget the new comer – the mask? If it is not good enough for us, then it is not good enough for the beach either. In life too we often think about our benefits only and try to dumb or leave behind emotional baggage for others to handle.  We meet people and the first thing people often think is ‘would they be of any use?’ Not knowing that in reality we never know whose help would we require in the future. What gives us the right to discard our waste at the beach, beauty of which is what lured us there?  We think we can do as we please even when we know what is good for us.  Out of fear for the authority and fine is why we have been abiding by the law when it comes to traffic safety.  The fine amount increased and we began to be conscious about wearing the seat belt and speed limit. And the same with the facial masks only the fines made sense to us, not the medical advisories. What would make us respect nature?  Oil bottles that were used for the boat has a place to dispose off.  We were probably more conscious about these subtle etiquettes when we were children but somewhere along it became someone else’s job to keep the environment clean. But one thing is for sure just like the theory of understanding a person from the way he/she looks after a car, we can tell a lot about how one behaves when they are outdoors especially at a beach for instance – it is part of the person’s personality reflecting values. An ancient wisdom explains to us that nothing really belong to us.  We are walking across the earth like millions have done so before.  But they have always or at least tried to respect nature. Our generation is more aware about what is good for us and pops up the question, “How does it benefit me?’ fast enough to analyse the situation but the waste we produce is someone else’s problem. The truth is we are interrelated.  If the sea is not inhaling and exhaling right it is not just harmful for marine life but us too for we depend on the sea from food chain to salt and water through desalination. In fact, it should be in the core of our conscience.  Shall we renew our commitment towards our environment?  No, no we do not even have to go for beach cleaning.  We just have to take back all our waste back with us and leave nothing but footsteps.  So that is our third R – Renew, for renewing our contract of commitment with nature.