To Be or Not To Be

I remember, once upon a time before my father died and I was at the high school, I kept asking daddy, why on earth, did he buy acres of land in that remote area. For me, it was just uneconomical and wasting of money. It was better for him to keep the money in the saving account for the future use. Besides, there would be no one to look after the lands since they were very far away from our home and everybody was busy with their own works. Moreover, there were no human beings living there, as they were the real jungle. Dad said there was a small beautiful waterfall in our land but he also managed to find the footprints of elephants and tigers! How come they will give benefit to us? Daddy’s answer was simple; now, you might not know what they are for but I’m sure you’ll know the advantages later on.

Now, I realize how stupid I was to ask that silly question. Instead, I’m thankful to daddy for giving me an idea to think about. Yes, he was absolutely right. Land is one of the most invaluable things given by God on this world as a form of responsibility towards human beings. Because of land, some people became the lords and those without it became the slaves. Because of land, a country fight with another – the latest example is between Korea and Japan and the ‘evergreen’ intifada in Palestine in fighting Jews – since it is the symbol of power and domination. Argumentation between members of the family and blood shedding has become the endemic just for the ownership of a piece of land. If it is not because of the land enriched with the petroleum and minerals, Iraq may not be invaded.

The price for an area on the surface of earth which is called a land is getting higher and higher day by day. Only those who have the true conscience to cultivate the nature wisely will get the extra bonus. We have to be aware that the lands are not our real properties. They are God’s. We came down on earth and the land is long ago laid before us and we’ll be leaving the world with the land behind us (even those who claims that he is the most powerful can’t stop the death, right?). And later in the Hereafter, God will give the real reward to those who take good care after His Properties as ordered by Him. At this moment, as everybody knows, there would be no turning back and the earth won’t be recreated.

Just ask ourselves, are we grateful enough with all our belongings and use them properly? Do we appreciate the things in front of us or just take them for granted? Have we carried out our responsibilities or still doing nothing good in this mortal life? We may say, I will or not yet but for me, the answer is one of the two matters: to be or not to be.
(picture above: my family and i with 2 of our land employees - the lady with blue dress and the man behind at their house)