The Greener Pastures Conundrum

Some days back, a friend’s personal message on her BBM read, “the grass is greener on the other side, but the water rate is higher”. It got my interest piqued as there is always a seemingly “greener pasture”. This is the basis of this post, a documentation of my thoughts on greener pastures.

Imagine for a moment that what appears to be a greener pasture is really a mirage, created in your mind because of the discontent you have within. Or how about a more realistic analogy, the greener grass you see now could be nothing but wallpaper? Some real life size art created to cover the hard reality of the wall underneath. It appeals to you and draws you in, it however isn’t real.

Maybe you finally get to the greener pastures and discover it is made of synthetic material. That would be a real bummer, right? Okay, enough of playing out the possible bad situations. Let’s discuss why exactly you want a greener grass.

Is it that you don’t have grass at all? Or you need more? The more you claim to “need”, do you really need it or you just want it? Is it envy that makes you desirous of another’s grass?

I’m no expert horticulturist; however, I know a few conditions that make for growth of plant life.

The Environment

Does our climate and topography allow for the growth of grass? Our unique features make our life more interesting, the climate and terrain conditions is one of them. It is of note that these conditions are not easily changed.

Proper study and observation of these intrinsic features of our environment is important. Think of it as reconnaissance.

Most plant life sits in the earth, soil. It is part of the environment which permits growth. Not all soil is suitable for grass cultivation, the effort required to make desert soil grow grass might as well be used in growing the wild flowers, vegetables that are more amenable to that kind of soil.

The question then is _“what kind of grass do I want?”_

The Grass

As stated earlier, different kinds of grass thrive in different environments. The grass we want may not thrive in our environment yet. Perhaps with new techniques (think green houses, irrigation), we can make them grow here. It is also important to note that not all kinds of grass need as much tending as others.

This begs the question of _“how much effort is required on my part?”_

The Owner

This is the main issue I believe, me and you, the owners or farmers. What kind of person are we? Are we the lazy, unproductive type who desire perfect conditions for enjoyment? Or are we the ones who are not reluctant to invest our time and energy where needed, to create a suitable environment for growth?

The horticulturist does an amount of preparation of the soil so it can allow growth of plants. There is the tilling of the soil (breaking up of strong soil), removal of unwanted parasitic materials (weeds), and mulching (a way of increasing the nutrient content of the soil). These are preparatory procedure for the soil in which our grass lies. Liken them to foundations of the buildings and institutions we have. After the preparation comes the planting of the grass. The preparation must be done though, for better productivity.

Post planting, there are tending activities that need to be done. Continual checks on the progress of the plant, to prevent parasitism (weeds) again, and watering of the plant. It is important to note that negligence can cause the failure of the pasture you have planned.

The Costs

Someone paid the price to make their soil (environment) more amenable to growth. Can you pay that price? Can you be dedicated to creating a similar environment for growth where you call home?

There is also the cost incurred during the migration to greener pastures. As my friend said, “what if the water bill is higher?” it must be paid. The costs could be the time spent waiting, beautiful company, nostalgia for home, the money you pay as tax, the food which your body reacts to, whatever it is; the cost has to be paid.

Perhaps we may never be able to have our pastures as green as elsewhere, our climate and nature of soil may not support it. The cost of making them amenable may be high. We can still grow our beautiful wild flowers, our vegetables.

If we completely hate the wild flowers and vegetables, then before we set out for greener pastures we should be certain we can afford and are ready/willing to pay the costs.

P.S.: I tried to make this as brief as possible. We can discuss on the far-reaching applications of this in the comments section. You can engage me, anonymously, if you so wish.