I am looking around and can see the sky – vast and open before me.  The shape of the clouds can sometimes tell a story.  I can see one that looks like an angel, and another like a cross.  The clouds I like best are tinged with a salmon pink colour on hot summer evenings, and look like a giant feather or a brush stroke – the delicate mark of the Master who created it all. 

As I scan the heavens, my sight is increasingly no longer a 360-degree clear zone.  Over the years and decades my sky-scanning has been interrupted by big grey concrete blocks – apartments and other buildings which seem to be getting higher and higher.  This is suburbia, but it feels like the city jungle which is far in the distance is ever encroaching on what used to be my sanctuary; my sky.

We all know that populations are increasing and people must be accommodated.  More people want to live in convenient places.  More people want to commute to work in less time and want to be closer to shops, hospitals, and schools.  But at what cost?  I have noticed that mine is one of the few places which still has a backyard and tall trees.  Everywhere else is built with boundary-to-boundary dwellings, and little if any greenery. 

I worry that we are losing our sky to ‘progress’ and overdevelopment.  It is when we feel our souls being sapped by the lack of natural diversity and colour in our spaces, or notice diminishing flora and fauna, or can no longer hear the birds or experience deep silence, that we know that we are in trouble.  Yes, this is the inner city life.  Yes, one can always sell up and move to the country, but fleeing ought not to be the solution.  Pushing someone out or aside is not the way.  Saying ‘no’ and ‘enough’ is not popular, but is necessary.  It is a question of balance and limits.

What exactly are we blocking out when we keep building stuff? When we can no longer see the horizon, we can feel a sense of suffocation and enclosure. The lights necessary to keep these buildings ‘alive’ at night not only use more energy, but wash out the stars and blind us to the wonder of our universe above. The eyes of God can see us everywhere – we know that – but when we focus on building monuments around us, that is all that we ever aim for, so we stop looking for Him.  We instead worship the god of our artificial progress and majesty instead of His power in creation.

We need air, sun, and room to expand our lungs and field of vision.  Did you know that suburbs without gardens and trees are hotter, and can adversely affect the health of people who live there?  Greenery attracts all sorts of animals and insects, which enliven our local environment, pollinate our plants and produce wonderful organic fruits and vegetables for us to eat.  Have you ever tasted a homegrown tomato or strawberry?  The flavour is out of this world.  Who wouldn’t want that?  You’ll be amazed at what you can grow in your own piece of space.  It just won’t work in the perpetual shadow of a monstrous building, and we ultimately pay the price for it.  Without gardens, trees, little creatures, and our own patch of peace, we can never truly be happy.

So if you live next to one of these buildings what can you do?  This post is not to have a dig at anyone who lives or works in such buildings either – we all need a roof over our heads – but property developers must be encouraged to think carefully about the height and designs of their buildings.  They especially need to consider the appropriateness of where they are being constructed from the outset, and to not be afraid to scale back for the good of others and the environment.  We don’t need more clutter, but appropriate maintenance of what we already have, and more green-friendly structures.

So many residential properties being advertised by real estate agents for sale these days encourage new owners to knock down and rebuild larger scale and multistorey apartments (STCA – Subject to Council Approval).  Most of these existing properties are still in good condition, and only need a thorough cleanup or renovation.  But irreversible demolition has become a compulsory mantra out of greed rather than a rare necessity.  The worst by-product of this is that a lot of housing history is being lost from our suburbs, and replaced with joyless boxes of blandness.  In a bygone era, people lived in houses as homes where families and memories were made.  Now houses have not only become incredibly unaffordable, but are ‘investments’ for the wealthy or those who aspire to wealth.  A home or a ‘property portfolio’ has become a commodity.

What is the point of building without ceasing?  What is humanity aiming for?  The God of the heavens is humble, and favours the lowly and weak.  He dwells in a place which we can never reach unless we become small and humble too.  The irony is that if we give up the pursuit in striving for bigger things, He will come down to us and make us great in a way which will leave us whole and at peace.

What does God have to do with structures? Everything.  He knows that we want to work at achieving better things and being mighty people, but there is a right way and a wrong way to do this.  Humanity will always want to aim for more, but unbridled greed at the cost of nature, other people, and the wellbeing of our souls is not the way.  He wants to be the number one priority in our lives.  Following Him will always lead to genuine progress. 

Image Credit: pixabay.com