Amidst the Mist

You know, tractable as we are, living in the city, advocating ourselves day to day because that’s the apparent plan. Getting away from this fixed unsynced time table is something we all crave. An ambivert would always be conscious of this thought but yet seldom would he take the correct steps in order to free his mind and heart from this wrecked social world. Blessedly, Travelling and philosophizing are the only two things in my world that give me an unfathomable sense of satisfaction and happiness. I believe my actions and decisions are doing justice to the forces of the universe and this is the epitome of all I ever sought.

Nature resides here, you are welcomed

A few days ago, I decided to embark on one purposefully misleading trek to a nearby mountain. No phones and torches, meaning no artificial form of light. I intentionally carried one matchbox for a feeling of slight carbon warmth when I needed to turn back to 'Reality'. I wanted to turn myself in, get in the midst of all the untouched nature and lose myself, wishing to stay in the company of the ones who don't move, they just breathe and provide us with the necessary elements to breathe. From morning to night, just me, the greenery and the gazillions of insects I could hear but not see, felt weird you know, I could move freely, hear my own breath, see butterflies in a bunch of lustrous color combinations as they would settle on my shoulder as I passed. After all, we know "all is one for one is all".

After a stormy summit and an attempted pacy walk back to the base, Darkness struck in, this is when I knew the discomfort that I was here for has struck. Gradually we lost our way and eventually, we were not even on a trail; we were forcing our way through thick bushes. Trust me friends, two hours of wandering with fear tingling within me was revealing enough, wondering would I have to stay the night in this beauty but beasty land with not one ray of light. Moment by moment, my belief was plummeting. Look at me, being all shaken and praying to the powers above. Now even if I unintentionally touched a leaf I'd wonder was it my past bad deeds telling me that they aren't leaving or was this nature’s way of guiding me deeper into the discomfort I came looking for. Man, I settled for once right where I was, my shivering hands got into my pockets and got a match out, I struck it, and boom, a groovy vertical wave of flame asymmetrically bloomed of the stick with a little extra carbon smoke waver into the darkness and I saw my hands on which on a drop of water lay, my face's reflection in it. Bamboozled did I look, not one bit of understanding of the world on my face, but I saw who I am, even in the darkness. You know what my dear friends, I felt something within me, goosebumps crept in and my legs and hands twitched, my beard felt rigid and strangely erect.

Conquer while you can

That's when I figured about oneness again, everything was so contrasting, after such an eventful day a simple light of a match made me feel one with the forest, the land and the daily life that I left behind for a while. Vibes started pouring in all around, rainfall struck and I felt safe. Krr-krrr, Choo- Pakiyaaa, Tu-Doo-Do-Do-Do, all life around me rose like a Blue Whale, I felt so good and so peaceful and loved existence so much then, I believed in "Tears in Heaven" and "Coming back to life". You see once again friends, nothing is hard, you never need to run or stay, you never need to explode or implode, the two sides of a coin are a myth, it’s all one, there are no two sides, its collectivity everywhere, you-me-him, land-fire-water. A broad mind will make you comfortable with my aspect of loving discomfort.

- Shillong, Meghalaya, North-East India.

Eco Bricks

It was the summer of April 2016, I was somewhere in an underprivileged village along the Konkan coast of India. The villagers had to cross a bridge each day to get in and out of the village. The bridge had collapsed, they were stranded. I witnessed a group of westerners who summoned a spark in their brains, they and their mates visited the garbage "storehouse" and used plastic bottles to fill them with garbage to construct steps across the waters (where the bridge originally was) and behind the tiny hills. They called them "Eco-bricks" This made me see two sides of the story, one where we use and throw undegradable materials, the other being when we rise and innovate, by which I mean we can be creative with garbage to an extent that provides convenience to the masses.

Bricks made of Waste; Used to make Bridges & Staircases

Plastic, as only a handful are aware of, has been a majorly disruptive material in the field of “Environmental Sustainability”. Despite being omnipresent in every industry and being the cheapest source for packaging, it has equally brutal disadvantages. The ocean is so polluted by plastic that sea creatures are getting breathless underwater and eating plastic as a part of their diet which in turn makes a full circle to us. This material has a composition as such, that it is irrelevant for us to comment on its degradability (ranging from 200-1000 years).

Bamboo is a natural source that comes from mother earth, every bit of its composition is environment-friendly. If we consider it as an alternative to plastic it would be the most prudent choice by humanity in the 21^st Century. There are billions of humans on this planet from which at least one-fold have enough money to purchase toothbrushes, the rest probably just make do. Consider a possibility where we only produce Bamboo Toothbrushes; that would save us from 5 percent of Plastic Pollution and would, in turn, lead to healthier life cycles for the threefold that cannot afford these essentials.

Another possibility is using the strong fibers inside bamboos to make bags that common people carry every day of their lives; which accounts for another 10-15 percent of Plastic Pollution. Plastic also seems to tear due to heavyweight or sharp objects. But, something as natural and strong as Bamboo fiber can withstand such stress and also increase the lifetime of such bags.

An example I could personally think of is  Bamboo Straws.

Bamboo Straws are long term usable items. Not just a one-time use and throw, but this can also be used over and over. Also, in cases where products with straws are being sold to tourists, these straws are surely disposed of, but the Bamboo version boasts a quality of biodegradability which is a big plus as it would cause no harm to its surroundings.

Why is it better than plastic straws?

•        Reusability
•        Recyclable towards making more intricate materials for the lower class
•        A completely new fashion towards drinks: Bamboo Straw

If we wish to keep humanity safe from a disease induced and looted world, we should have already begun the process of revamping our environmental standards. Substituting Bamboo for Plastic shall be an ideal manner of putting a restraint on the materials that make this world a more dangerous than comfortable place to survive. Imagine if we could curb the usage of plastic, if we could obediently follow the positive results of an environmentalist's research, that’s when we will live healthier, eat healthier and breathe healthier. So, let’s all, from this very day, begin the process to alter our choice of essentials.