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Drip…drip…drip…drip…. and lo! What do we have here? An ocean!
Individual efforts have always been lauded. And not without reason. They’ve always led to significant changes, some to the extent of changing the course of history. Consider any mass movement, any big achievement; they all have their beginnings in the so called insignificant efforts of an individual. I call this the power of one. One individual. One vision. Single minded effort. Persistence. And lo and behold...the change is there for all to see.
Every time I feel small and insignificant or unsure of making my dreams a reality, it is the story of such individuals which spur me on. Right now I’m riding the wave of inspiration instigated by the story of Elzéard Bouffier.
Written by French author Jean Gioni, ‘The man who planted trees’, (French title L'homme qui plantait des arbres), also known as The Story of Elzéard Bouffier, The Most Extraordinary Character I Ever Met, and The Man Who Planted Hope and Reaped Happiness, is an allegorical tale.
It tells the story of a lone shepherd's long and successful single-handed effort to re-forest a desolate valley throughout the first half of the 20th century. Taking place in 1910 the story is a narration by a young man hiking alone through the barren plains in the foothills of the Alps. He runs out of water in this desolate, treeless valley, only to be saved by a shepard who provides him a drink of fresh water from his well.
Intrigued by this man, living alone in such a sad place, the narrator stays on. He is amazed to learn that the man has taken upon himself to single-handedly restore the ecosystem of this desolate place by cultivating a forest, tree by tree. All this with the help of a few acorns.
The narrator returns a few years later to find the valley on the way to becoming a full grown forest and even later into a vibrant ecosystem. Over 10,000 people have moved there, bringing to life the once deserted valley, unaware that they owe their happiness to this lone, courageous shepard. Amusingly, unaware of Bouffier’s far sighted acts the forest authorities believe that the rapid growth of the forest is a queer natural phenomenon and it receives official protection.
The story is simple and so touching that it appears to be a true story. The author’s hope was to make trees and planting trees likeable so as to set in motion a worldwide reforestation movement. But it was far ahead of time. Nevertheless it is believed to have inspired some reforestation movements.
The beauty of the story is that though fictitious it is not entirely impossible. Often when we read about fictitious characters living an inspired life we tend to brush it off saying it’s not practically possible. But then again we have individuals like Abdul Karim who prove us wrong. Hailing from the Kasargod district of Kerala, this young man returned to his native land promising himself that he would “turn this ochre expanse green." Years later the land he stood on is a vibrant forest echoing the call of a variety of birds and animals. The life of the villagers has been transformed as they now have clean, sweet drinking water.
Stories of people like Karim makes one realise the extent to which a lone individual can touch the future. They are living proof that, ‘vision without action is a dream; Action without vision is simply passing the time; Action with Vision is making a positive difference’. All that is required is courage to turn that vision into reality.
When will the world see more Karims? When we will wake up to the seriousness of the ecological situation? All that is required is to make minor lifestyle changes. Certainly not too much to ask for? As a Cree Indian Expression says,
Only when the last tree has died
and the last river has been poisoned
and the last fish has been caught
will we realize
we cannot eat money.
I just hope that when we do wake up and act, it’s not too late. For this very reason we need stories like that of Elzéard Bouffier’s. A very short tale (hardly 30 pages) with a long story to tell, it is certainly a book worth scouting for.
Name: The Man Who Planted Trees
Author: Jean Giono
Published by: The Harvill Press, London (1996)
Available at: Not very easy to find, but worth the search! Check the WWW.
Individual efforts have always been lauded. And not without reason. They’ve always led to significant changes, some to the extent of changing the course of history. Consider any mass movement, any big achievement; they all have their beginnings in the so called insignificant efforts of an individual. I call this the power of one. One individual. One vision. Single minded effort. Persistence. And lo and behold...the change is there for all to see.
Every time I feel small and insignificant or unsure of making my dreams a reality, it is the story of such individuals which spur me on. Right now I’m riding the wave of inspiration instigated by the story of Elzéard Bouffier.
Written by French author Jean Gioni, ‘The man who planted trees’, (French title L'homme qui plantait des arbres), also known as The Story of Elzéard Bouffier, The Most Extraordinary Character I Ever Met, and The Man Who Planted Hope and Reaped Happiness, is an allegorical tale.
It tells the story of a lone shepherd's long and successful single-handed effort to re-forest a desolate valley throughout the first half of the 20th century. Taking place in 1910 the story is a narration by a young man hiking alone through the barren plains in the foothills of the Alps. He runs out of water in this desolate, treeless valley, only to be saved by a shepard who provides him a drink of fresh water from his well.
Intrigued by this man, living alone in such a sad place, the narrator stays on. He is amazed to learn that the man has taken upon himself to single-handedly restore the ecosystem of this desolate place by cultivating a forest, tree by tree. All this with the help of a few acorns.
The narrator returns a few years later to find the valley on the way to becoming a full grown forest and even later into a vibrant ecosystem. Over 10,000 people have moved there, bringing to life the once deserted valley, unaware that they owe their happiness to this lone, courageous shepard. Amusingly, unaware of Bouffier’s far sighted acts the forest authorities believe that the rapid growth of the forest is a queer natural phenomenon and it receives official protection.
The story is simple and so touching that it appears to be a true story. The author’s hope was to make trees and planting trees likeable so as to set in motion a worldwide reforestation movement. But it was far ahead of time. Nevertheless it is believed to have inspired some reforestation movements.
The beauty of the story is that though fictitious it is not entirely impossible. Often when we read about fictitious characters living an inspired life we tend to brush it off saying it’s not practically possible. But then again we have individuals like Abdul Karim who prove us wrong. Hailing from the Kasargod district of Kerala, this young man returned to his native land promising himself that he would “turn this ochre expanse green." Years later the land he stood on is a vibrant forest echoing the call of a variety of birds and animals. The life of the villagers has been transformed as they now have clean, sweet drinking water.
Stories of people like Karim makes one realise the extent to which a lone individual can touch the future. They are living proof that, ‘vision without action is a dream; Action without vision is simply passing the time; Action with Vision is making a positive difference’. All that is required is courage to turn that vision into reality.
When will the world see more Karims? When we will wake up to the seriousness of the ecological situation? All that is required is to make minor lifestyle changes. Certainly not too much to ask for? As a Cree Indian Expression says,
Only when the last tree has died
and the last river has been poisoned
and the last fish has been caught
will we realize
we cannot eat money.
I just hope that when we do wake up and act, it’s not too late. For this very reason we need stories like that of Elzéard Bouffier’s. A very short tale (hardly 30 pages) with a long story to tell, it is certainly a book worth scouting for.
Name: The Man Who Planted Trees
Author: Jean Giono
Published by: The Harvill Press, London (1996)
Available at: Not very easy to find, but worth the search! Check the WWW.
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