by Jesse Hang
Despite the myth that fireflies first existed during the times of the dinosaurs , the people of Harmonia know that it was during the 68th Festival of Life that fireflies first descended on our planet Earth. To this day the people of Harmonia know that this world of ours will end when the fireflies cease to glow.
How the fireflies came
to play such a vital role in the survival of mankind is often debated.
However, the people of Harmonia never had any doubt about the role that
fireflies play, as they possess the pure consciousness that enables them
to remember the events that happened during the Forgotten Years.
During the days of the Forgotten Years,
absolutely everything was in a state of harmony. Every rock, fish, bird,
tree, animal, human, river, cloud, every form of being all over the universe
was aware of the intrinsic unity of life and the infinite interchangeability
of every bit of matter. It was a time when man could soar up to the sky
and play with the clouds, and later fall with the rain to flow with the
river. Man could mingle with the animals and communicate with the rocks
and trees. Every being possessed the pure consciousness that made them
aware of the integral part every atom of matter plays in the web of life.
Worms would eat the plants; birds would
eat the worms; cats would eat the birds; wolves would eat the cats; men
would eat the wolves; the earth would gobble up men; plants would drink
the essence of life from the earth; and the cycle of life would continue
to infinity. Man was part of everything, and everything was part of man.
There was no killing out of hatred, no hoarding out of greed, no jealousies
out of envy, no values out of superiority, and no wars to defend or gain
possessions.
All this was possible because humans
possessed pure consciousness and realised that they were a part of everything.
Nothing could be taken or given, and there was no victor or victim. Every
being was a part of another in some form or through various cycles of life.
During the Forgotten Years there were many festivals, but none as grand
and joyous as the Festival of Life, which was attended by every being on
the particular planet where it was held. It was during the 68th Festival
of Life on planet Earth that Fireflies first came to play such a vital
role in our life. At this particular festival (later referred to as Pongo
Crazy festival), the celebration and festivities were held at the foot
of the Mountain of Infinity in the Land of Harmony. Years before the festival
opened, men and other beings from all over of the planet began to head
for the Land of Harmony. Though the main festivities were held in the Land
of Harmony, celebration and music could be heard and felt all over the
planet.
Some came by land, some by sea and river,
and others by flight. The rocks and the trees were the first to arrive,
years ahead in anticipation of the joyous festival. The coconuts, papayas,
mangoes, pineapples, and bananas all came by riding on the winds and clouds
from the Southern Seas. The pines, oaks, redwoods, beech, and maples likewise
travelled with the winds and clouds from the Northern Hills. The eagles,
hornbills, owls, magpies, and other birds were the next to arrive. Then
came the horses, tigers, lions, kangaroos, emus, elephants, monkeys, and
giraffes, followed by humans, tortoises, snails, and monkeys.
Those who would otherwise be unable
to attend the festival rode overland on the backs of elephants and giraffes,
hitched rides with dolphins and turtles across seas and along rivers, and
some clung to eagles and albatrosses as they flew over hills and plains
to the Land of Harmony. Thus all were gathered in the Land of Harmony during
the eclipse of Lumina which marks the beginning of the Festival of Life.
By that time, all the fruit trees were bearing fruits, and food was plentiful
for all who were hungry.
Children were playing with tiger cubs;
sliding down the necks of giraffes and the trunks of elephants; swimming
with the dolphins; and building dams with the otters... and there was music
everywhere. When the birds got tired of singing, the cicadas would entertain
with their symphonies. When the cicadas got tired, the breeze would blow
through the willows and bamboo. Occasionally, all would dance and sway
with the rustlings of palms and leaves. When they were all tired, everyone
would take a cool dip in the river and relax to the gentle sound of the
flowing river. As at every Festival of Life, music, joy, and peace prevailed.
The chaos and disharmony that exist in our world today can be traced to one particular festival.
Pongo Crazy festival was so named because
it was from the misadventures of a dog called Pong that the peace and harmony
of the Forgotten Years was disrupted. On one particular day, dinner was
a bit late because everyone was feeling tired after years of festivities.
Pong, in her impatience, began scurrying around in a frenzy searching for
food. In her frantic quest for food, she fell into the river and was swept
away by the current over a waterfall, whereupon she hit her head on a rock
and lost her pure consciousness.
In the midst of all the festivities,
nobody suspected that Pong had lost her pure consciousness, and had to
have a red ribbon tied around her neck to indicate her disharmony with
the universe. (Such a temporary loss of pure consciousness could easily
have been treated at the Isle of Medico.) Unknown to all, Pong bore a grudge
against the river, and was plotting her revenge. She wandered into a remote
part of the forest and figured out a plan to punish the river. Pong decided
that she was going to stop the flow of water in the river, and the best
way to do that was to stop the clouds from falling as rain; and consequently
the river would run dry.
Pong then communicated to the clouds
to convince them that clouds were the supreme essence of life since they
could fly, provide water for the rivers and cool shadows in the sun, and
even transport other beings across the sky. After some persuasion, the
clouds began to believe that they were indeed superior beings, and thus
they demanded more respect from the others, or they would refuse to fall
as rain.
For the first time in history one form
of being began to assert superiority over the others. As the clouds refused
to fall, the entire world was plunged into chaos. The rivers and streams
began to dry up. More and more fishes began to swim to the seas (which
is why there are more fishes in the seas compared to rivers and lakes).
Fear reigned supreme as more fruit trees died, and the availability of
food dwindled. The animals began to hunt and kill each other as a way of
coping with the scarcity of food.
It was the end of living and the beginning
of survival. The harmony and peace that had reigned supreme since time
immemorial was shattered. The fear that gripped every being on Earth spawned
the greed, jealousy and selfishness so prevalent on Earth today. Man began
to hoard food supplies for the future and slowly forgot to live for the
present. As some men managed to hoard more than others, envy and covetousness
ensued; and this eventually led to war as people fought to gain or defend
their possessions.
As more and more clouds refused to fall,
the eternal cycle of life was broken and darkness threatened to envelop
the world, for the light from the sun could not penetrate the gathering
dark clouds. It was so dark the clouds could not see that their own existence
was also in danger. And thus they continued with their air of arrogance
and superiority, and still they refused to fall. The beings on earth were
faced with extinction; and the entire universe was also in peril, as every
being in the universe is part of the larger cycle of life (a fact we seem
to have long forgotten).
It was at this most perilous moment
of darkness, when the entire universe was in danger of extinction, that
the fireflies from planet Fuegora first descended on Earth. Billions of
fireflies plunged through the enormous layer of dark clouds and illuminated
the world. At that moment, the clouds suddenly saw that almost all the
rivers were dry; fishes were flopping about in puddles of water on river
beds and on the ocean floor; trees were wilting; carcasses of animals and
humans were everywhere. Few survivors were left.
Not only did the fireflies illuminate
the world to let the clouds see the stupidity of what they had done, the
glow of the fireflies from Fuegora also had the special capacity to rekindle
the pure consciousness of the other beings. When the clouds regained their
pure consciousness, they began to fall again and the world began to recover
from the disaster.
That was years ago, and many beings
of this world have not yet completely regained the harmony and pure consciousness
of the Forgotten Years . That is why fireflies are still flying around
hoping
to rekindle the pure consciousness of
more beings.
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