At the
Geography class in school, I remember how fascinated I was when we were being
taught all about the Dead Sea . As you probably
recall, the Dead Sea is really a Lake , not a
sea (and as my Geography teacher pointed out, if you understood that, it would
guarantee 4 marks in the term paper!) Its so high in salt content that the
human body can float easily. You can almost lie down and read a book! ( And
indeed I did, during my stint in the Mediterranean .
It was a magical experience I must say !)
The salt in the Dead Sea is as high as 35% -
almost 10 times the normal ocean water. And all that saltiness has meant that
there is no life at all in the Dead Sea . No
fish. No vegetation. Nothing lives in the Dead sea .
And hence the name.
While the Dead Sea has remained etched in
my memory, I don't seem to recall learning about the Sea
of Galilee in my school Geography lesson. So when I heard about
the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea and the
tale of the two seas - I was intrigued. Turns out that the Sea of Galilee is
just north of the Dead Sea . Both the Sea of
Galilee and the Dead Sea receive their water from river Jordan . And
yet, they are very, very different.
Unlike the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee is
pretty, resplendent with rich, colorful marine life. And lots of fish too. In
fact, the sea of Galilee is home to over 20 different types of fishes. Same
region, same source of water, and yet while one sea is full of life, the other
is dead.
How come? . The River Jordan flows into
the Sea of Galilee and then flows out. The
water simply passes through the Sea of Galilee
in and then out - and that keeps the Sea healthy and vibrant, teeming with
marine life. But the Dead Sea is so far below
the mean sea level, that it has no outlet. The water flows in from the river Jordan , but
does not flow out. There are no outlet streams. It is estimated that over a
million tons of water evaporate from the Dead Sea
every day. Leaving it salty. Too full of minerals ( the cosmetics industry that thrives out of these minerals is huge,
by the way !!!!). And unfit for any marine life.
The Dead Sea
takes water from the River Jordan, and holds it. It does not give. Result? No
life at all.
Think about it.Life is not just about getting / acquiring. Its about giving
/ sharing. We all need to be a bit like the Sea of Galilee .
We are fortunate to have wealth,
knowledge, love and respect. But if we have never learnt to give, we could all end up like the Dead Sea . The love and the respect, the wealth, beauty
and the knowledge could all evaporate with time. Just like the water of the Dead Sea . If we get the Dead Sea
mentality of merely taking in more water, more money, more of everything, the
results can be disastrous.
It will be a good idea to make sure that
in the sea of your own life, you must have outlets. Many outlets. For love and
for wealth - and everything else that you get in your life. Make sure you don't
just keep it to yourself, you must give it away too. Open the taps of your
mind. And you'll opening the floodgates to happiness.
- As narrated by a Bureaucrat
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