Dec 23, 2021
The constellation led us to anywhere we needed to go,
Stars forming patterns that told us to go left, right, east or west,
The rustle of the leaves in the forest,
The waves crashing onto the shore, told stories to my grandmother,
She said these stories were not like the fairytales, we have become accustomed to,
She said they told stories of wisdom from our forefathers,
Tales of warfare, famine and of a lifestyle so deeply rooted in culture that even the Mariana Trench envied its depth,
She told me the relationship was so strong that the trees and the seas were often jealous when we strayed,
But her words fell on deaf ears,
But the ocean listened, so did the trees, the flowers, and the land our forefathers were connected to,
Once were pure, once were untouched,
Once pristine, an embodiment of innocence, now compromised,
Technology, a word so often associated with help, advancement and betterment have caught us in a web we got stuck in,
Proving that the Maslow’s hierarchy was indeed true, we kept expanding in needs, our wants and selfish desires,
Neglected our culture, neglected the forces that fed our ancestors,
Agriculture, an essence of our existence, slowly taking away our forests and its lush biodiversity,
Farming the land for our food, school fees and necessities, a very complicated situation,
As each season comes and goes, we are faced with land that has decreasing value,
Oh how disappointed our ancestors will be,
And before I knew it, my grandmother’s warning rang in my ear,
As we watched villagers pass pots to each other, watching angry waves crashing into our homes, taking lives and taking away our land,
We heard earthquakes with magnitudes of 7, 8 and 9, breaking scales, tsunamis claiming thousands of lives,
Soil quality decreasing to a point where many villages are now hungry,
Pristine rivers and yet no access to clean water,
And as all this was happening, as technology was trying to solve these problems we realized yet another crisis,
Languages lost with the islands that sank, cultures altered to a point where even our elders do not know where these words came from,
No more coral to sustain life in the ocean,
No more trees and vines to house the insects that helped with keeping the forests complete,
A mess, but not even a beautiful mess,
A mess only a miracle could solve,
Hopeless, lonely and clueless we have become a disgrace to our elders,
But my grandmother also told me the ocean showed mercy to those who wanted to help,
I realized, the ocean and the forests forgave, and show compassion,
Prolonging the lives of my elders, we worked together with the creators of technology,
Before the ocean swallowed us, we mended bridges, explored our lives back then,
Nature based solutions, using the land and seas in a way where they replenish,
And not perish and leave us without options,
While my grandmother said technology was a curse, it did show us balance,
Gadgets to detect these earthquakes, floods, and tsunamis, kept us on alert,
Technology gave women a space at the table, it gave young people a space to express ourselves,
Technology, my grandmother said, gave the thoughts of women and the non-initiated life,
Making decisions that affected us, we were no longer kept in the dark, and we were given room to shine,
Technology allowed us to reflect to revive the oceans and the forests,
Introduced us to new ideas on how to have multiple uses of land, sustainable landscaping for the betterment of our people and its future,
Allowed us to be one with nature again but this time, to do it in today’s circumstances…
Although my grandmother gave me warnings of the dangers of technology,
I am equipped enough to know, I have found the balance,
Where technology and culture meets,
One cannot thrive without the other, like the oceans and forests relied on us and we on them,
And as I listened to the rustle of the trees and the waves that crashed at my feet,
I heard them murmur in agreement.
