Saturday 16 March 2013

A tale of Two Seas

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. 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 is 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 a 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. 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. *