I
hate crowds—so we kept looking for unspoiled places, hiking up into remote
forests, tree-lined cliffs, and rugged mountains. Even here, there were signs of
humanity—graffiti on tree trunks and abandoned watch towers. The messages were
similar, only the names changed…“David was here,” “Justin loves Lisa.” Many
cities employ graffiti removers to paint over markings on bridges, buildings,
and other structures. But the spray paint and carvings on tree trunks are much
harder to fix.
After
several days of encountering spray-painted tree trunks on top of pristine
mountains, I started feeling depressed. I wondered if humanity mainly consists
of those who deface the earth and others who try to clean up the mess. Is our
everyday existence, our desire to leave our mark, to express who we are, and to
make an impact—merely a form of graffiti? Or maybe we are one of those do-gooders
who spends a lifetime painting over graffiti left by others. Either way, it all
seems like such a waste.
“But
as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so
meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile
anywhere.” (Ecclesiastes 2:11 NLT)
I honestly consider my daily clean up and I do mean daily of other people's defacing my walk routes no matter where I am "serving God" to honour Him and His Earth.
ReplyDeleteI do understand your frustration on the defacing but God put you here to learn a lesson from it and to teach others. So for that, you wrote this post and shared. If you stopped one person from doing this, or even think about doing it, you have done what you can to serve with Peace in your heart.
Sometimes I think everything I do (including writing) might just be equivalent to graffiti-like markings on this earth. Or maybe I am merely white-washing over someone else's previous marks.
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