Perpetuity

My hikes in the mountains of the Peninsula are characterised by landscapes sometimes devoid of all ground cover, with only the blackened skeletons of old protea bushes suggesting that this had once been a paradise of fynbos and birdlife before the hand of Man cast fiery destruction across the land. And yet there are individual trees that refused to give up, branches sprouting new leaves along their entire length, something I have never seen happen on a protea, and it is so uplifting to see that nature overcomes all adversity in a cycle of constant renewal. Dotted around on the bare, sandy soil are new plants rising in rebellion, their juicy bulbs sending out fresh green shoots and exquisite blooms, raising the middle finger to death.

At a time when one has to question whether Man serves any useful purpose on this planet, and the atrocities perpetrated by the human race not only among themselves, but also against the flora and fauna of this world, it is comforting to know that, when we have long since disappeared from this beautiful blue dot hurtling through the universe in an insignificant spiral arm of a lesser galaxy, that which knows not how to hate and destroy will remain as evidence that peace and love will endure forever.