Friday 14 October 2011

A tale of Two Seas


    Sitting in 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! 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. No sea animals.
    Nothing
    lives in the Dead sea.

    And hence the name: Dead Sea.

    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. There are lots of plants. And lots of fish too.
    In fact, the sea of Galilee is home to over twenty 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?


    Here apparently why. 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 7 million tons of water evaporate from
    the Dead Sea every day. Leaving it salty. Too full of minerals. 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. Its about giving. We all need to be a bit
    like the Sea of Galilee.

    We are fortunate to get wealth, knowledge, love and respect. But if we
    don't learn to give, we could all end up like the Dead Sea. The love and the
    respect,
    the wealth and the knowledge could all evaporate. Like the water in the
    Dead Sea.

    If we get the Dead Sea mentality of merely taking in more water, more
    money, more everything the results can be disastrous.

    Compounding is the Eighth Wonder of the World.


    -----Albert Einstein


    Good idea to make sure that in the sea of your own life, you have outlets.
    Many outlets. For love and wealth - and everything else that you get in your
    life.
    Make sure you don't just get, you give too.

    Open the taps. And you'll open the floodgates to happiness.

    Make that a habit. To share. To give.

    And experience life. Experience the magic!
     

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