Nourish Nature

From the moment our eyes open in the morning to the quiet moments before we sleep, our thoughts, reactions, and choices reflect the environment that nourished us. The patterns we inherit, the habits we repeat, and the values we uphold are rarely built in isolation. Instead, they are carefully woven through our earliest experiences—stitched together by the hands of family, community, and culture.

In the tender stages of childhood, our understanding of the world is shaped not just by words spoken to us, but by the silent testimony of playtime, friendships, and small decisions—like which toy we cherish most or how we respond to another child’s emotions. These moments, seemingly insignificant, are actually fragments of a deeper trial and testimony: a quiet training of our hearts and minds to perceive, empathize, and choose. 

Then come the teenage years, marked by friction and discovery. Here, the innocence of childhood gives way to the sharper edges of error and consequence for solutions and lessons. In these years, every mistake becomes a chance for reflection, and every solution becomes a step toward maturity. The tension between wanting independence and needing guidance reveals what values have truly taken root within us—and what lessons still need nurturing.

Childhood is a much shorter phase compared to adulthood, which highlights the importance of upbringing. We spend a brief season under the immediate care of parents and guardians, but a far longer stretch living out what they taught us, refining it, or at times, unlearning it. This collaboration between environment and self doesn’t end with adolescence; it evolves as we continue to test, apply, and re-examine what we believe.

It’s for this very reason that the early years are so precious: they plant the seeds of love, resilience, and faith that can outlast countless storms. The environment we create for children is not just about shelter, food, or schooling—it’s the unseen architecture of their hearts and minds. It shapes how they will see themselves, how they will treat others, and how they will seek truth and mercy.

Allah reminds us in the Quran:

"Truly, We did offer Al‑Amanah (the trust or moral responsibility) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it. But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust (to himself) and ignorant (of its result)."
— Quran 33:72

This Amanah is a profound reminder that our responsibility over our lives is far greater than what we might casually perceive. Constructing our moral compass isn’t just a personal journey of becoming “better people” in isolation; it is a divine trust, a sacred duty that encompasses everything we do, think, and choose.

When we look closely, we realize that our knowledge, bodily functions, and even our simple act of breathing are not sustained merely by the flat notions of reading, eating, or moving. They are part of a living tapestry of trust: a trust that we care for ourselves, and in doing so, care for what surrounds us. Allah has given us a unique place in creation—not just to exist, but to contribute.

We, as mankind, share a collective contribution to the Earth. The state of the climate, the quality of the air, and the balance of life on this planet ultimately depend on the energy we each emit: the intentions we nurture, the choices we make, and the reflections of unity and peace that we extend outward. It’s not simply about activism or external effort, but about the internal environment we carry within our hearts that becomes the seed of external change.

This concept beautifully mirrors the practical wisdom of “reduce, reuse, and recycle”—which itself is an act of mindfulness, restraint, and creativity. In the same way, our spiritual and social lives call for us to “reduce” selfishness and heedlessness, “reuse” lessons learned from past mistakes, and “recycle” goodness by sharing it forward. This process, repeated across billions of souls, builds a moral climate—an environment that either sustains peace or invites corruption and chaos.

Just as the labor we invest in protecting nature leads to clearer skies and healthier lands, the moral labor we invest in ourselves and our communities shapes the spiritual climate we all live in. The “pollution” that gathers in society—hatred, injustice, greed—can be traced back to the failure to uphold the Amanah Allah has entrusted to us. And like a child’s trial and error, the statistics of society—crime rates, poverty, broken trust—reflect the cumulative result of our collective efforts, or lack thereof.

By understanding this trust, we see that we are not separate from the world’s wellbeing, but central to it. We are not only building ourselves; we are co‑architects of the environment we all must inhabit. And the peace we yearn for—both in the heart and on Earth—is born from the sincerity and steadfastness with which we uphold this divine Amanah. And in this cycle of growth, love remains both the soil and the sun: the force that nurtures the good, softens the hard, and makes it possible for each new generation to reflect something even better than what came before.