All the stories published under ‘Impact Journalism Day’ in the *Straits Times are inspiring, but the most impactful one for me is “The man who planted 20 000 trees.” I thought this is such a meaningful and good life and wondered how one can live a meaningful life, like Kartik’s , an ex-barber who has planted 20 000 trees and now at 75 years old is still planting trees.
From the story I distilled these pre-requisites:
- Serving others is the mission of life. The ex-barber would save some money from his earnings to buy the seedlings to plant his trees. He has never collected payment from anyone for his work.
- Philosophical belief learnt from his father who told him: “…If you just plant a tree, that will bring you far more blessings than any pilgrimage…” To me this is equivalent to “faith with work…”
In a materialistic world where consumers are kings, it is not easy to not work for money, but on the road less taken, where money is secondary, where serving others is priority, life can be very meaningful and fulfilling.
*ST Sat 20 June.
