It seems we often have a bad habit of forgetting our past. Have you ever noticed how we do that?
We think something older than our present is unimportant or insignificant. A majestic oak tree is cut down because it’s in the path of a proposed new roadway. A stately old architectural structure with classic design sits vacant, neglected, is bought, then torn down and replaced by some sterile concrete and glass edifice. We do away with something and replace it with something newer or completely different. Any recollection of the past sails out of our collective memory and its’ significance disappears forever.
Why Do We Do This?
To what purpose do we do these things? Is it for our true betterment? Countless times I have witnessed the bulldozing away of a beautiful slice of natural Florida flora and whatever fauna residing there leaving only bare soil to build a house. Everything originally there is eradicated. The house is built. A token palm tree and two or three shrubs are planted around the house and sod laid. Where once shade-giving trees and shrubs might have been, an artificial micro-environment unrelated to seasonal cycles takes its place. We create a setting dependent upon water and energy consumption.
Think About It
Does that ageless tree truly need to be cut down or could the new road be routed around it? Can an existing building be renovated, repurposed, and used again instead of tearing it down and building a new structure? What does it cost us to preserve connections to our past? Do we eliminate traces of our past out mere desire for profit? How does it all add up in the end? Are we better off being connected to our past or alienated from it altogether?
Life Outside The Window 