Hello Spring

Awakening beauty 

By: Dr Laila Abdel Aal Alghalban

Professor of linguistics

Faculty of Arts

Kafrelsheikh University

Hello Spring!

" Bright daisy buttons burst, scattered on the grass," " The apple boughs have just burst into leaf and my herb bed tells me there'll be mint for our potatoes this Sunday," "The plane tree outside the hospital looks like a cathedral soaring into blue heaven,"  "Today the daffodils hold court, elegant swathes drift up the bank, white flowers nodding gently on the slightest of breezes,"  "I also heard the first shrill twee of a wheatear,"  "Today the very first two crimson tulips appeared in their plastic pot, mouths still tightly shut," among many others, are not extracts from the amazing nature poetry of Wordsworth, Shelly, or Keats. They are a sample of nature writing by ordinary citizens eying the advent of spring.

Spring is so special to people around the world as it symbolizes new life, coloured sceneries and waking up from hibernation. Celebrations take various forms: festivals, parades, floral displays, competitions, national days, culinary arts, communal meals, etc. Writing about spring or nature writing has long been confined to poets, novelists, philosophers, nature scientists and anthropologists. New nature writing has honed new writers: they are ordinary people. This week, The UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) ask people nationwide for entries to a "national nature diary" describing (in no more than 150 words) what they see and what spring means to them. The project aims at raising awareness among common people of the importance of connecting to nature and documenting seasonal changes. It is a massive shift in nature writing history and a call for bottom up awareness of the necessity for nurturing folk science, literature and culture of nature respect. How can this project help change attitudes towards nature, enhance the beauty of nature and be replicated elsewhere?

Nature as a text

It has been discovered that we share a big part of our DNA with animals and plants. Such bonds make it understandable to keep connecting to nature and our co-creatures.

Nature is seen as text that calls for readers and writers. Observing the coming of spring could be at parks, small gardens, the backyard of your houses, balconies, even looking from windows or while commuting to work. The most important thing is to connect to nature. Just get out of your houses, where you are voluntarily imprisoned. Reading nature would grant your senses a restart. 

Writing heals 

Folk nature writing enables people to unleash their creativity and challenge the deeply rooted assumptions about our relationship with one another and with nature. Through deep listening to the inner voice of all around us, nature writing can teach mindfulness. We can reflect on the universe and the Almighty, Creator of all creatures when we see  sunflowers opening and closing, and bending towards the sun, when we instill the habit of exercising outdoors by the Nile, in the park, desert, hills and valleys, when we watch the sunset while birds go home, when we watch farm animals in the white blooming clover fields, or the gold-colored wheat  farms, when we see bees busy collecting nectar from new blossoms, etc.

Little Warrior Mothers

                                                                             

Little warrior mothers

By Dr Laila Abdel Aal Alghalban

Professor of linguistics

Faculty of Arts

Kafrelsheikh University

 Happy mother's day! Many countries around the world celebrate mother's day in March,  acknowledging the amazing role of mothers in the life of their families. Kindergartens, schools, universities and almost all institutions share the celebrations.  The event is also a  commercial opportunity for retailers and manufacturers, and a breathtaking festival of lovely and hilarious wishes, images, quotes, poems, posts and jokes on social media. This year a special kind of mothers have been gaining popularity. They are not mothers yet. They nurture nature!

" Honored and very grateful for the nomination," tweeted Greta Thunburg, the climate activist Swedish schoolgirl who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize this year. Greta's call to halt climate change has inspired so many young people around the world. Meanwhile, a teenager movement led by young girls called "Sunrise Movement" are sharing the same call. Supported by the youngest congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) Sunrise has recently been so vocal of the right of future generations to enjoy the same natural resources, environment, security and opportunities  that their parents and grandparents had. During the same week, a study shows  that women economists are more likely than men to embrace environmental policies and procedures. They are thought to have different lens to view the world and act responsibly when it comes to the cost of environmental crises now and in the future. Further, environmental reports indicate that women's carbon footprint is lower than men's. Women consume less energy, eat less meat, drive less, smoke less, etc. The question is why are women in general more eager for safeguarding the wellbeing of our planet than men? 

  Nature as mother

The link between women and nature was deeply rooted in the eco-philosophy of western civilization: nature was regarded as our nurturing mother. A shift in this philosophy took place due to the industrial revolution.  Nature is seen as a machine, a slave, a beast or an enemy. Ever since, nature has been abused beyond words, with women always being the first victims. Eventually, a correlation has been established between the exploitation of nature and the vulnerability of women. In many cultures, to take care of the environment  and be kind to women sounds less masculine.  Many others believe that campaigning for environment protection is typically a feminine action, a belief  or a stigma that has deterred many from developing eco-friendly attitudes. Women are usually denied the right to participate in decision making and are subordinate to men universally.

    When crises resulting from environmental abuses like wars,  famines, drugs, epidemics,  ignorance, illiteracy, etc. hit, women sometimes stand defenseless, but surprisingly remain the most resilient ones. They survive them and help families to survive too. Women's abilities to endure problems on daily basis  and to make ends meet are sometimes miraculous. So fighting for environment protection is a fight for a better life and sustainable future. 

   Mother is home as earth is our home

 In many cultures, mothers cannot eat until the rest of the family eat. Other mothers are forced to live in sheds and deserted places during their periods.  Even in the developed countries, women are still fighting against the gender pay.  Studies show that women  are less selfish and wired to give, care and sacrifice. It is no surprise then that mothers are the sole or primary family breadwinner in many parts of the world. So mother is home. In Egypt, for instance, when a man decides to marry, he says" I want to open a home," i.e. no woman no home. A wife is also referred to as "home" as in " I was calling the home" meaning " I was calling my wife." Accordingly, women's care for the environment is part of her care for their home. 

Nurturing the future

Those little girls (mothers) and their colleagues realize that their generation is the first to pay for environment degradation. Their daring initiatives to secure a sustainable future for themselves and the coming generations are acquiring supporters every day. The unprecedented existential threats to life on earth caused by soul-crushing materialism have made it imperative to find a way for stopping the destructive effects of environmental crises, abuses, that cause wars, forced displacement, human trafficking, racism and hate crimes. They think that we need to revolutionize the ideas, beliefs and habits govern the way we interact with one another and our surroundings. Small scale policies and measures such as waste management and reduction in energy consumption are no longer enough. Only when the wounds of earth heal and she becomes sound, the little moms will build strong homes and have sound kids.

 To such wonderful little moms and to all moms everywhere, happy mother's day!