A reflection of an unspoiled Nature
on a wall
By Dr Abe V Rotor
“I who erewhile the happy Garden sung,
By one man’s disobedience lost, now sing Recover’d Paradise to all mankind,
By one man firm obedience fully tri’d
Through all temptation, and the tempter foil’d
In all his wiles, defeated and repuls’t.
And Eden rais’d in the waste Wilderness.”
-
John Milton, Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained 1667
(Paradise
Regained, Book 1, Lines 1 to 7) Photo: Typical representation of peaceful
co-existence of all creatures in the fabled Paradise.
A
glimpse into natural history, longer than humanity’s biography, a span not even
imagination can fathom - the rest is omnipotent mystery – from the first day of
creation to the seventh and beyond; 
A
glimpse into Oparin’s spontaneous theory of life, to Stanley’s experiment
of chemical to biological transformation, and Darwin’s theory of
transformation of life forms through evolution.
A
glimpse into Pasteur’s life-saving immunization, Zamora’s Tiki-tiki milk
substitute during WW2, Fleming’s antibiotics, to Barnard’s heart
transplantation, to Crick and Watson’s DNA model that gave rise to molecular
genetics and engineering.
A
glimpse into Einstein’s E=mc2 formula of a man-made Armageddon, to Higg’s
Boson’s energy-to-matter transformation, ultimately naming the
primordial matter, wanting of clear explanation, as God’s Particle.
A
glimpse into Gagarin’s first manned orbital satellite, to Armstrong and Aldrin
team’s landing on the moon, to Molina et al ‘s theory of Black Hole that
devours stars – including our sun and all its planets.
A
glimpse into the greatest inventions: Wright brothers’ airplane, Edison's
incandescent lamp, Bell's telephone, San Juan’s Moon Buggy, Rotor Syndrome (bilirubin metabolism disorder), and other inventions
that boost energy supply, efficient mass travel, among many others.
A
glimpse into Green Revolution - beginning with the birth of agriculture at the
Fertile Crescent to opening of new frontiers, Magsaysay’s PRRM (rural
development), to modernization and diversification, onto hydroponics, aeroponics
(city farming) and GMO (genetically modified organisms) farming.
A
glimpse into the ancient world culminating in “the glory that was Greece” and
“the grandeur that was Rome,” plunging into the Dark Ages, and rising in the
Renaissance (15th Century), when the age of colonization placed the
Philippine under Spanish rule for 400 years.
A
glimpse into the end of the era of colonization, the heroism of Rizal,
Bonifacio, Luna, Mabini et al , and later
heroes, Quezon et al, and the saga of the unknown soldier during WW2, and the
organization of the UN with Romulo among the founding world leaders. 
A
glimpse into the Cold War which polarized the world into warring ideologies –
democracy and socialism – that gripped and pushed the whole world to the verge
of global annihilation; and into its triumphant end symbolized by the tearing
down the Berlin Wall in 1989.
A
glimpse into the Malthusian warning of unabated population increase
outstripping the earth capacity to produce enough food, thus inviting the Four
Horsemen of Apocalypse in the Book of Revelation representing war, famine,
pestilence and death
A
glimpse into worsening pollution on land, water and air, its consequences being primarily
the irreversible destruction of the pristine environment, and the very
foundation of productivity.
A glimpse into Haribon’s movement to save threatened
and endangered species, with the Philippine Eagle (Remember Pamana!) as
flagship, Greenpeace’s militant stand against environmental abuse, among other environmental
movements.
A glimpse into neo-exodus to cities - cities
growing into metropolises to megapolises - where millions of people are
dangerously ensconced, and vulnerable to epidemic, famine, acculturation and
loss of values, annihilation by weapons of mass destruction, notwithstanding.
A
glimpse into man-induced climate change due to industrialization, population
explosion, increasing affluence, extreme capitalism-consumerism,
triggering more, and stronger, force
majeure that destroy our earth and life itself.
A glimpse into Hans Selye's theory of increasing life expectancy or longevity, although a breakthrough, results in imbalanced demography, shortage of labor, slowdown of economy, increased budgetary requirements and subsidies.
A
glimpse into the works of the world’s greatest naturalists, from Aristotle to
Da Vinci, to pioneers Rizal, Wallace, Schweitzer, Audubon, to contemporary
Attenborough, EO Wilson, for their philosophy of Reverence for Life.
A glimpse into the world’s best works in the Humanities
exulting Nature through music (Beethoven’s Pastoral, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons,
Lucio San Pedro’s Ugoy ng Duyan), literature (Carson’s Silent Spring, Thoreau’s
Walden and Al Gore’s World in the Balance), fine art (Amorsolo’s Harvestime and rustic country scenes ).
A glimpse into the world’s reserves and
conservation parks covering natural habitats of wildlife (Palawan’s Underground
River), and ecosystems vital in maintaining balance of nature and its
sustainability for future generations and posterity.
A
glimpse into globalization with the world shrunk and wired, so to speak,
running on two feet: the versatility of cyber communication, and convenience
and swiftness of travel to practically anywhere on earth.
A glimpse into the magic of cyber-technology,
virtually placing “the world on the palm at fingertip command,” from on-line learning,
entertainment, commerce, to relationships, thus further shrinking time and space,
and fusing biology and machine, natural and artificial intelligence.
Young and grownup visitors experience virtual reality of being in a pristine landscape. The mural is visited every day by various individuals and groups. It is open to the public. The mural is lighted for evening viewing.
The mural is made of sections depicting the major ecosystems. It measures 90 feet long and 7 to 20 feet high. It is located at the corner or Kudyapi and Lam-ang Streets (Block 61, Lot 55), Barangay Greater Lagro QC. (Land Line: 939-6331) The mural was completed in six months by the author-artist, in time with the celebration of the Christmas Season and the New Year 2016.
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