Woohoo! You might have booked up a trip (with GB Rovers) to the breathtaking North of Pakistan and you feel pumped and ready to explore a whole new dimension of nature. You have probably started packing weeks before the journey with all the essentials that you will require during your stay there. The day when you will embark upon the thrilling journey is arriving fast and you are under the process of preparing your mind. Nature indeed waits, with open arms, for you to explore, for you to ponder upon its beauty! But the question arises that when we do explore nature do we take extra care to respect and preserve its features? Or do we find pleasure in visiting it as complete aliens, with no other motive but to invade and destroy?
Before you begin your journey, there is something that you should consider and it is indeed of great significance both for you, your fellow humans as well as for other life forms on Earth.
As we are ALL part of this majestic system, every being fitted as a puzzle piece in the functioning of this undoubtedly beautiful planet. Even a single missing or broken piece can ruin the entire puzzle. The system of Earth seems so indestructible yet is extremely delicate. On this apparently huge planet, we only inhabit a tiny area. This is who we are! And yet outside that blue sky is a darkness, calm yet deadly! This pale blue orb in the darkness, our Earth, is our TRUE home. Our mother! Our behavior towards our home, is it hostile? Is it the complete opposite of what it expects from us?
Some ask, why care? Well, the planet which has nurtured Human kind like a true mother from the time when we were less and were at our weakest, gave us food, shelter, and protection from both external and internal forces that were against our existence to the time now that we have thrived and developed to the fullest. Doesn’t Earth deserve care?
But Humans don’t do what is expected, do they? No. They seek pleasure in doing what harms Mother Earth the most. Cutting down ACRES of trees; yet forgetting that it’s not money that they can breathe, chopping down trees; yet complaining that it doesn’t rain anymore, blasting away mountains; yet complain about the ground shaking (Earthquakes), creating oil spills in the waterbodies; yet complain about decreasing quantity and quality of seafood. MURDERING wildlife for personal gains like fur from the seals, horns from the rhinos, ivory from the elephants, take birds for pets and uncountable others. Burning fuel and complain about clean air. Throwing plastic into the landfills, yet complain about cleanliness. If I start counting the damages to the Mother Earth by man then it may take hundreds of pages, but ask yourself, aren’t these above-mentioned deeds of ours enough to make us ashamed of our own humanity?
Nature is ever watchful and it monitors our deeds and though we humans seek comfort in believing that the good times will remain forever but look around you … don’t you see the disturbance happening? The instability in nature? It has started. But if we all aren’t willing to join hands soon to heal mother Earth and continue down this path of ignorance than brace yourself because WE, humans, are going to be the next organisms on the Planet to get endangered and may be extinct. But hope and action is something that can change destinations.
So, on your journey to the beautiful North of Pakistan, through the world’s most famous mountain ranges I request you to take extra care of nature and to:
“Take nothing but photos and leave nothing but footprints”.
Respect the calm, respect the wildlife, respect the cleanliness and above all to help preserve nature for the coming generations, because Earth belongs to all. I ask you to enjoy but in a way that you soak in the beauty as well as preserve the image of humankind in the eye of nature since our humanity and our intelligence is what makes us Humans! Now that you are aware, the decision to act is entirely yours, but know this that those who choose to act, Earth never forgets them.
So traveler,
“For walk where we will, we tread upon some story.” ― Marcus Tullius Cicero
So long!
Written by: Sara Ahmad
