Composting and US Immigration

Some people pick nose as a hobby. Mine is even dirtier. I collect garbage. Yes I admit; I like composting (recycling) and that too with a passion. Trash is almost a treasure in our household and anyone wasting it gets frowned upon.

Composting has taught me many life lessons; patience among one of them – if you can call me patient to begin with! Composting has affirmed my belief that perseverance pays off. It takes millions of worms’ hard work to turn that trash into mineral and nutrient rich soil. I am a little less scared of bugs now and kind of watch them with interest and amazement. Otherwise they used to repel me at first sight.

Going for evening walks in the nature preserve it seems like insects are actually running the world in its true sense. They operate in a very timely manner. Everyday certain ones would crawl out around the same time, start responding to each other by making same noises and clutter around the same corner. A big herd of crows flocks in a certain area of the park right before sunset as if that’s their meeting point to share highlights of the day. Look at the weather for example. When clouds get saturated, the moisture starts pouring as rain. This whole world seems to work in a very organized and timely manner. Then why would we think that our lives are not doing what they are meant to do? Perhaps in our own little way we are all serving the purpose we are sent to this earth for.

The most valuable lesson I learned from composting is that life is inevitable and will not only survive but thrive at the first opportunity given. I dump perishables daily into the composting pile and within days it changes color, insects and birds not only feed on it but turn it into soil. At times seeds from leftover food sprout into little baby plants. This year we have a couple of tomatoe and several papaya plants sprouted from compost which are now 2 feet tall. What does it all tell you….that life will survive and thrive at the slightest chance. So if God’s other creations can, why won’t the humans – His best creation!

Let’s examine the US immigration issue in the light of composting. Human migration takes place where the resources are available and where it has the highest chance of survival and progress. If the West today is resourceful and wealthy then naturally humans will migrate towards West. It’s the nature of Nature. You can’t escape from it.

A couple of years ago when US auto industry was hit hard and Detroit’s population was moving out, Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York suggested to temporarily allow immigrants to settle there and revive its life. He guaranteed that immigrant’s hard work and resilience will flip it sooner than some other measures. Its interesting to see how each migrant community specializes in their own skills (of course there are exceptions). Hispanics are very hard working people. Physical labor is their strength. They are good at being handymen while us Browns are good techys and business minded but lack manual skills big time. Or ask yourself where would you go for manicure if it was not for the Oriental spas? I love and respect all nationalities that together make the US what it is today. We are the bugs, insects, and birds that sprout and thrive at the slightest opportunity given and with our very hard work compost unusable resources into rich marketable commodities. Almost all immigrants I know migrated here legally and never lived off of welfare. They worked their butts off from day one.

On the other hand I can totally understand the current uproar and protest against migration. When the Afghans migrated to Pakistan in the 80s after the Soviet war I felt the same way. I thought they would feast on the resources of Pakistan and influence our then-peaceful culture.  But a more eco-friendly me now knows the ways of nature. You can build walls against the entire humanity but migration will continue to take place in the direction of wealth and resources.

I don’t know about you but I also wonder why is it so hard to grow flowers while weeds flourish on their own. Keep spraying “Round Up” on weeds and they still get robust by the day but toil your labor on Roses and Dahlias only to see them wilt. Similarly in human population why is it that the bad guys rise to top so quickly while the good ones just keep waiting? Are we set to fail by Mother Nature? Why is goodness usually up for trial? Ah the vague greyness of life! Most of my questions remain unanswered!

Bazeecha-e-Itfaal hay dunya merey aagay – Hota hay shabo roz tamasha merey aagay

Anyway I would like to end this article by giving credit to my son Shahmeer who got me into recycling and reducing your footprint on the planet. Otherwise I used to brush off any suggestions of echo-living. After all, dinosaurs didn’t die because of human impact. They went on their own. Didn’t they 🙂