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By CLAIRE MAY TUAZON

Art exemplifies a unique beauty that captures one’s emotions somehow. The Victor Oteyza Community Arts Space (VOCAS) usually caters to the works of various artists. It is a venue for healing both the spiritual and physical aspect of any viewer.

All artworks from participating artists gave life to the walls of VOCAS. But what captivated my interest is the artwork of Katrin de Guia called Spirit Boat, built from discarded materials, shells wood and bones.

“Death has no face. Washed clean of all traces of personality, Kamatayan just does his job. He rows a boat filled with souls to the other side. His passengers are kings and commoners alike—rich and poor, wise men and fools. In the end, death nails them all,” says the caption on the Spirit Boat.

This brief caption increased my heartbeat. As I got closer to the Spirit Boat, I noticed that the people riding in the boat leveled off. No one was in the higher part or in the lower ground. Definitely, that is death. It recognizes no president nor king, no rich nor poor.

At present, people aspire to be the most powerful, the most rich, the most popular and the best above the rest.

Sometimes, we forget that the life we have now is not permanent, it is just temporary. Death takes us all in no time. If death has no criteria in taking away life, well judgment has. This only shows that all people in the entire earth have the same fate, in the issue of beginning and the end, or life and death. We only differ in how we live the life we borrowed from Him. To do good or bad while living is just a matter of choice.

Death and environmental degradation

“The rains come late. The sun behaves in a strange way. The world is ill. The lungs of the sky is polluted. We know it is happening. You cannot go on destroying,” says Davi Kopenwa, Yanomami, Brazil.

Death comes in many forms. One of which is the thousand of lives taken during storms because of degradation against the environment, made by humans. The abuses against Mother Earth comes back to us in times of floods, earthquakes, and landslides. The few devastating effects of global warming and climate change. These maybe natural calamities but man’s abuse has made the land, the bodies of water and the air vulnerable and destructive to human lives.

Our land is disturbed by the operations of large scale mining and logging activities. Every single centavo gained by the mining companies is detrimental to the sacred lands. The elements of the environment are exchanged for money.

The landslides, besides the fault lines there is the lack of trees growing. There are no more roots to help hold the soil. The Rivers have become dump sites for garbage, and become a breeding ground for disease. We end up with the wrath of an abused Mother Earth and lose millions of lives through out the world.

Everything we do against our environment means nothing but death. Irresponsibility, lack of discipline, improper waste disposal, excessive mining, dams, uncontrolled logging among others are just the things people should reflect on.

Breaking the shell of individuality, if we destroyed it, well, it is not yet too late to revive the dying environment. This is if we are willing to sacrifice the wasteful lifestyle many of us lead. Simple living means the survival of nature. In fact, the calamities do not only take human lives, it affects the food supply for human and animals as well.

We must all unite then to save our environment. As they say, “little action can bring great changes.” We have to choose whether we save our own lives by safeguarding our Mother Nature, conserve our natural resources together. To act on this is again a matter of choice, as we are given the right to choose.

Only God knows

Embracing goodwill can save us from eternal suffering. Only God knows when to get back the life He lent us. The thing is, will we still wait for the big day to do good or to do something the people could benefit from. Time is running out very fast, why not maximize the remaining days, months or years to make your life valuable in the name of God. Let us use our profession to help the masses who are in need, because that is what God wants us to do, to help one another.

Politically, our country is faced with issues of graft and corruption, ever since I can remember. I do not want to criticize the politicians, I only want to pause them a challenge. In the short time given to us, it is your choice to use the money of the people for your own benefit or not. It is also your choice to bring back the trust given you and lead the country. It is even your choice to continue fooling the masses or not. If you have planned to bring the wealth with you in the end, then it might sink the Spirit boat.

I believe that sailing in the Spirit Boat, one may find leaders of countries, the rich, the poor, among others; and all they can carry with them in the Spirit boat is the goodness in their heart, and the good deeds done to others, as well as the good things done for Mother Nature. Yes! In the end, death nails us all. But then again, a good heart and good deeds may all be that matters in the other side. # nordis.net