Originally published in China Youth Magazine, Issue 7, 2024
Text—Xiong Jinghua
Like most young people chasing their dreams, most of my life is occupied by busy schoolwork, as if everything around me that has nothing to do with my studies is an obstacle on the road to success, and I dare not stop for fear of wasting my time. Over time, my body became exhausted, emotionally anxious, and I began to feel at a loss about what life would be.
On an ordinary summer morning, I was walking with the shadows on the school garden as usual, quickly scribbling through the day's schedule in my head, but I was attracted by the discordant white on the side of the road. It was a little cat immersed in sleep, undisturbed by the footsteps of the city, nor bustling with the noise of songbirds. Looking at the regular ups and downs of its belly, I was stunned for a long time, and I suddenly realized that human beings were part of the natural world thousands of years ago, and it was only with the establishment of the city-state and the development of society that the appearance of the world was changed. Today, we are always busy working at our desks, intending to realize our self-worth in the limited fields set by human beings, but ignoring the world outside the window.
Since then, I've enjoyed observing the natural world, or going out of my way to look for cats and interact with them from afar. or picking up tree fruit and watching the germination of seeds with anticipation; Or stop on the horizon as the sun goes down to say goodbye to the sunset. Every time I get in touch with nature, I rejuvenate my tired body, let my mind burst out again, keep an optimistic attitude towards academic problems, and look forward to the new day. I finally had the opportunity to travel to every corner of the campus and explore many hidden places that I had never set foot in, I saw crows drinking water by the water pipes to quench my thirst, I heard magpies singing high in the treetops, and I smelled the fragrance of flowers and fruits in different seasons, and I was driven by a great sense of satisfaction to protect all these beautiful things.
So, at the beginning of the new semester, I joined the school's animal protection club, and I met a group of like-minded friends and gained a lot of animal friends in the work of the club. The training, exercises, and hands-on practice of various projects made me realize that maintaining a relative balance in the campus ecology requires the joint efforts of everyone. Nowadays, the feeding and rescue of stray animals on campus has gradually become a regular project for me every week, and the exploration of nature is no longer a matter of sightseeing, but has taken on the responsibility of maintaining the harmony between humans and animals.
I am currently working on water resources and climate change at university, and scientific evidence shows that over the past two centuries, industrialized-led anthropogenic carbon emissions have increased the global average temperature by 1.1 degrees Celsius, directly leading to catastrophic consequences such as melting glaciers, degrading permafrost, and rising sea levels. Historical experience tells us that human beings' brutal transformation of nature often takes several times longer to make up for and restore, and in today's world, governments are seeking a balanced strategy between development and environmental protection, giving more appreciation and respect to nature is an important lesson that human beings should learn.
Producer: Pi Jun
Final Review: Chen Min Reviewer: Liu Xiao Liu Bowen Editor: Liu Bowen Pan Haiwang (intern)