Is it a fair world?

This morning I met Grace at the top of the hill where I have my daily exercise. As we were doing a number of exercises Grace commented about those strong huge trees that we seem to see everywhere despite their seemingly giving no benefits to anyone.

Of course those trees are of great benefit to us but they just do not have some of the visual beauty that humans look for in plants. When I say visual beauty I refer to the shape of leaves and their colours, attractive flowers that lovers would like to take home to their loved ones and perhaps the ability to be shaped the way humans want them to.

The next time you meet a tree, take a good look at it and see the delightful smoothness or the beautiful texture of its rough bark wrapped around its trunk, appreciate the wonderful way its branches reach out so systematically as as not to be entwined. Look at their arrangement. Then enjoy the refreshing variety of green of the foliage as it ages with each different green. Therein lies the beauty of nature.

Besides appearance, plants, no matter which they may be, produce the oxygen we breathe in, replacing the carbon dioxide we breathe out. We need them as much as they need our understanding of the importance of plants. Undoubtedly, all plants are beneficial to mankind.

Then, I told her that this is obviously meant to be a fair world with everyone's needs taken care of. Plants with colourful, attractive flowers die easily when unattended to. These plants are more fragile and so require more care. God got humans interested in them and thus ensure their survival and propagation. The same goes for fruit trees. Those with better, more tasty fruits apparently need more attention.

However, there are some trees and plants which do not attract the love of humans. They are the plants that only can be found in our jungles and forests. One common characteristic among them is their toughness, trees with huge tall trunks and roots that dig deep into the ground in search of nutrient and water, vines that creep and crawl as well as climb upwards to reach sunlight. The will to survive is indeed strong. I have even seen a vine that though cut off from the bottom, hanging high up a branch could send thin threads of roots down to the group below in search of life-giving food and water.

Certainly, what a plant or tree lacks, it is being compensated with something else to give it equal opportunity to survive and propagate. Yes, if we were to look at nature, there is much to understand and less to fear. For every disadvantage, there must be some advantage somewhere. All that is needed is the strong enough desire to look for it. (For people, look for the inspiration in Jessica Cox whom I have written about earlier.) It's a fair world. And Grace agreed. What about you? Do you agree?