Page 50 - Genius Kidz Integrity Journeys-7
P. 50
Some children have the habit of killing anything that moves. This is not a good
thing to do. We certainly need to protect ourselves against some insects that spread
diseaes. But most living creatures are only not harmful to us, they are also helpful
to us. The usefulness of some of these is not yet evident to us. But it is certain that
they maintain balance among all the living things on this planet.
Some people are, for instance, afraid of snakes. They kill them indiscriminately.
But most snakes are not poisonous. They eat rats and such other creatures. If we
kill off all snakes, these rodents would multiply in numbers and destroy more of
our crops and spread diseases like the plague. Even the poisonous snakes are useful
for us. Many medicines are made from their venom.
Some varieties of birds were once wiped out by the farmers in a place because they
were eating their crops. Insects and worms then increased a lot and pesticides had
to be used. The insects became resistant to these pesticides and even stronger ones
were made. But each had less effect. Finally, the farmers had to trap in other parts
of the country thousands of the same types of birds they had earlier wiped out and
release them in their farms. They realized that these birds eat the insects and
worms. They do for the crops is more than the damage cause.
Human beings form an important part of nature. But we are only one among the
millions of living creatures on this planet. We have to learn live in greater harmony
with nature. All creatures have the right to exist. All creatures help each other in
some way. Each of them depends on all the others in some way. We all depends on
each other. We all need each other.
Nature has its own rhythm- of light and darkness, of sound and light, of work and
rest of sleep and wakefulness, of play and work, of exertion and recreation,.....
The closer our rhythm of life is to the natural rhythm of the world around us, the
more healthy and happy we shall be.
People are living today in very artificial circumstances. Some live in rooms or
apartments in high buildings, spend most of their day indoors under artificial light,
have very little physical activities, and have almost no contact with nature. Some
people stay awake till three or four o'clock in the morning and sleep long after the
sun is up. All the rest of nature goes to sleep soon after sunset and wake up at the
50