Submission 12: Students at Xavier College, Ba, Fiji
Sep 14, 2022
Hear
The voice of creation to me has no permanent form. It appears to me in the form of dreams and nightmares, a shrouded image of days to come or vivid alternatives to days long passed. In these dreams I see myself in scenarios that are often what plagues my battered mind as I walk the waking plain. It reminds me to be wary of my body, mind and choices. To let go of events that have passed so that I can focus on the present, a gift for many who still live to this day.
On other days It greets me in the morning with the sun’s glorious rays, lighting up the world, my home and my thoughts. Guiding me through the day as it travels from one point to another, with nothing hindering its stunning brilliance other then the clouds that will eventually drift away. It leads me to the trees that wraps me in its shade, cooling me down after basking in the sun’s optimistic rays. The shade reminds me that even a little bit of darkness can alleviate the burns left behind by the light. As I rest in the shade the sun begins to set. The setting sun reminds me that all goods thing come to an end, just as God made life on earth to be, so it shall be for all eternity.
As night approaches I am welcomed by the moon, that pulls the tides to the shore. It hugs me in its fullness that sometimes is not whole. Its changing form like the voice of creation itself to me, tells a story of change and a cycle of life. As the sun’s rays lit up the day, so will the moon illuminate the night, in a light that is soft and cool to the touch, inviting sleep and rest, with the silent lullaby of crickets that sing through the night. Thus, continuing the cycle of hearing and seeing the voice of creation.
It is through this cycle that I express my views on the voice of creation. A sound that one hears and can also see through nature, the environment and all that live. It serves as an ever-present reminder to remain in God’s love and care and having faith in what one believes in just as it has eternal faith in its creator. Therefore, through the faith I have in God and the knowledge of his love for all that he has created, I am naturally inclined towards the conservation and sustenance of the environment around me as it teaches me the value of God’s creation which came to life and existence, through his very words and what I know now as the voice of creation that has continued to be with us since the beginning of time.
LISTENING TO THE VOICE OF CREATION
The Season of Creation is a time of reflection and a process of establishing a deeper connection with God and His Creation. It is a season that is celebrated by Christians in a span of 34 days. It begins with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, that eventuates on the 1st September and ends with the Feast of St. Francis of Asisi, the patron saint of ecology, on 4th October. This is a favourable time for Christians to reflect on whether their individual encounter with Jesus Christ is noticeable in their relationship with their surroundings.
Every day God’s creations cry for help but their cries are muted by the noise of cars and hidden by the smoke of burning sugarcane fields. How can we appreciate God’s creation when our world is polluted by man- made plastics, carbon emissions? Our own carbon footprints tell us the level of our contribution to the ozone depletion process. Personally, I feel that the subtle changes in the weather pattern is an urgent call from God’s creation. My daily walk home from school allows me to witness how the surroundings is heavily affected by harmful activities committed by humans- the drains cluttered with plastic bottles and plastic wrappers; the bare ground and dust along the road where trees once grew; the nearby creek’s ever-changing shape due to flooding, burnt cane soot and ashes from nearby canefields that were burnt the previous night. The crying voice of creation is not to be ignored instead I must do my part to be still and hear that cry. I must advocate for the crying voice of creation with my peers to stop all these atrocities inflicted on God’s Creations.
The effects and impacts of human activities are becoming more evident as the years go by. This can be seen through the regularity and severity of natural disasters around the world and in Fiji. Disasters like Cyclone Winston, that was formed on 7th February and dissipated on 3rd March, 2016. It was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere that drastically affected Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, Niue and Queensland, killing 44 people in its wake.
Furthermore, these harmful activities by humans also affect the environment, locally and globally. The change in weather patterns was said to have been the reason behind a fire that ignited in the Arizona Forest on 29th May 2020 and in turn caused 2520 wildfires to burn nearly 980 000 acres of state, federal and tribal land in almost every corner of the State. Another source of much of the world’s oxygen, the Amazon Forest, is prone to fires that are said to be caused by de-forestation and burning for continued land clearing for agriculture and other income generating activities.
Climate change is also responsible for unprecedented flash floods in places that rarely experience such events like in South Korea that led to one confirmed death and four missing people.
Our common home, Earth, is suffering day by day due to the harmful activities of mankind. As a young child, I was occasionally taken to the beach and would always see rubbish being thrown everywhere except in the rubbish bin. It was never a pleasant sight to see. In order to show my determination for a clean and healthy environment, I vow to reduce use of all plastic bottles and bags and persuade others to do the same. I would also like to encourage my peers to avoid polluting the environment and waterways and practice composting instead of burning rubbish. We must educate ourselves first on the importance of Mother Nature to humanity before we can even make a change. In order to achieve change, I believe the first step is to listen with the ear of your heart to what Creation is telling us.
