The Shepherd Who Planted Trees

In just eight years, the entire highland has been completely renewed, exuding the light of health and prosperity.

If you want to know who is a person of truly outstanding character, you may have to spend several years observing: whether his actions are selfless; whether his motives are generous; and he must also leave a clear mark on the earth. .

I am lucky enough to know a "tree-planting man" who just meets the above conditions.

About forty years ago, I trekked to the Provence Plateau under the Alps. At that time, the plateau was a piece of loess, bare and without a single tree.

I walked for three days and came to the ruins of a dilapidated village. The houses in this village have long since lost their roofs to wind and rain. A church with a collapsed spire shows that people were once inhabited here, but now there is no sign of life.

Since I ran out of water two days ago, I needed to find drinking water urgently. I originally thought there should be a well in the village, but when I found it, I found that it had dried up.

Actually, I am quite familiar with this area. There are four or five villages scattered sparsely on the highlands. Most of the residents moved away because they could not bear the dry climate. There are only a few charcoal-burning workers left, and life is very difficult.

I continued walking forward, thinking: I might have no hope of finding water. Just when I climbed up a hillside, I suddenly saw a figure in the valley in the distance. I shouted to the person: "Can you give me some water?"

It was a shepherd, in the valley. There is also a group of sheep in front of the stone house. The shepherd silently drew me water from the well. The water was clear and delicious.

He rarely speaks, but you can feel that he is a confident and decisive person, because he built a stone house in this desolate highland.

This house bears traces of his construction everywhere, as well as his blood and sweat in repairing the ruins after arriving in the highlands. The roof was strong, and the wind blew through the tiles, making a sound like a tsunami rushing to the shore.

Although his life is not rich, the shepherd's appearance is very neat. He was clean shaven, and his clothes were sewn carefully, stitch by stitch, without any patches visible.

The shepherd took me into the room and poured me a bowl of soup. I handed over the tobacco bag and he said he didn't smoke. After a while, he took out a small bag, poured out a pile of acorns, and then carefully picked them one by one.

I asked curiously: "What are you doing?" The shepherd replied: "I want to choose a hundred seeds and plant them tomorrow."

The shepherd's name is Elzea ·Bouffier, fifty-five years old this year. He used to have a farm in the flatlands, but when his wife and only son died, he decided to move to the highlands.

Elzea Bouffier has been sowing seeds in this barren mountain wilderness for three years, and has planted approximately 100,000 seeds. However, only 20,000 of them sprouted and grew into saplings; and of the 20,000 saplings, only half could survive the dry climate and the gnawing of wild rats.

"Why do you have to work so hard to plant trees?" I asked.

He said that this piece of high land was dying because there were no trees. Anyway, he doesn't have the pressure of a career, so he can just take on the task of saving the earth.

Early the next morning, I asked him to let me stay here for another night, and he said yes calmly. In fact, it was not necessary to stay another day. I was just driven by curiosity and wanted to know more about him.

He opened the sheepfold and let the sheep graze. He also dipped the acorns carefully selected last night, together with the bag, into a bucket of water, and left the house carrying the bucket of water.

I found that he brought an iron rod, about as thick as a thumb and one and a half meters long. We first drove the sheep to the river valley to graze, and then climbed up the hillside together.

After climbing up the ridge, the shepherd picked up an iron rod and dug a hole downwards, put in an acorn, and then covered it with soil. He patiently planted acorns one by one.

I asked curiously: "Does this hillside belong to you?"

He shook his head: "No."

"Then you know who this is Land?"

"I don't know, it might be public land! But whether it is public land or private land, what does it have to do with me planting trees?"

He then Said: If God gave him another thirty years, the number of trees he planted would be astonishing.

In addition to oak trees, he also studied breeding beech trees. There is a nursery near his house, which is protected by a wire fence to keep the sheep away. He also plans to plant birch trees in the valley. In short, he hopes that through his efforts, the bare highlands can be covered with trees.

On the third day, we broke up.

The following year after that encounter, World War I broke out. Five years of military service made me forget about the "man who planted trees."

After the war, I once again set foot on the road leading to the bare plateau. The scene was roughly the same as before, except that at the end of the uninhabited village, there was a gray mist, which seemed to have covered the top of the mountain with a layer of felt.

I think of the man who planted the tree. During the five years of war, I saw many people fall on the battlefield. How can an old man in his fifties live?

However, in fact, Elzea Bouffier is not only alive, but his body is even stronger than before.

He now only raises four sheep, but has one hundred more beehives. He no longer herds sheep because they would eat the saplings he planted. At the same time, he also said that the war had no impact on him at all, and he had been planting trees without any distractions during this period.

The oak tree planted in 1910 is now ten years old, taller than us, and looks magnificent. I was speechless and he was silent. We walked in his forest all day. The forest is eleven kilometers long and three kilometers wide at its widest point. Don't forget, it was created from the hands and mind of this man, without the support of any outside technology.

And during the five years of the war, he carried out his plan thoroughly. Those beech trees have been as high as my shoulders and stretched as far as the eye can see.

Then he took me to see a birch bush that had been planted five years earlier, while I was fighting at the Battle of Verdun in northeastern France. He planted all the birch saplings in the valley where he thought the surface was moist. The results confirmed that his guess was correct. The birch trees stood as graceful as girls and became a forest.

Creation is like a chain effect.

Elzea Bouffier carried out the plan step by step with the simplest ideas, without any burden in his heart. But when we walked back to the village, a riverbed that had been dry for a long time was now flowing with gurgling water. This is the most impressive scene in the chain effect.

The dry river bed used to be a stream a long time ago, and the desolate small villages I walked through before are the relics left by the ancient Romans. Archaeologists once dug up many fish hooks in the village. But in the 20th century, the river dried up and people had to dig wells to get some water.

When the water returns to the earth, willow trees, peonies, wild flowers, etc. reappear one by one. These natural changes occur unconsciously. The hunters returned to the highlands and began to hunt hares or wild boars. They may have seen saplings sprouting from the ground, but no one thought that it was Bouffier's masterpiece; no one ever imagined that one person's perseverance and love alone could Let nature change.

In 1935, Bouffier was seventy-seven years old. Suddenly one day, the official sent some people to inspect the forest created by Bouffier. They unanimously declared that this was a "natural forest", and at the same time decided to take some necessary measures to this natural forest, including the forest land in the provincial reserve, and charcoal makers were not allowed to cut it down.

One of these officials was a friend of mine. When I mentioned Bouffier to him, he was greatly surprised and expressed his desire to meet this strange man. That day, Bouffier was working hard to plant trees ten kilometers away from the forest land inspected by officials. I brought eggs as gifts, and the three of us had lunch under the tree.

From the tree-covered hillside we just walked through, it is hard to recall that in 1913, this was still a dry land with no grass growing on it.

Perhaps it is because Bouffier has a selfless soul, lives in a healthy mountain forest, and lives a simple life that God gave him such a strong body. With the speed at which he is planting trees, it is impossible to estimate how many acres of forest he can still plant!

Before leaving, my friend left several tree planting suggestions. He told me on the way back: "Bouffier obviously knows more than me." After walking for an hour, he added, "He knows more about planting trees than everyone else, and he has figured out the way to happiness. ”

Thanks to this forest officer, the forest was not only preserved, but also ensured the happiness of the tree-planting man. Because the forest officer sent three rangers.

The only thing that threatened the forest was during World War II. At that time some cars had engines that ran on wood, so people started clearing oak forests. Fortunately, this highland was too far away from the railway and transportation was inconvenient, so the logging merchants did not have the idea of ????moving here.

Bouffier didn’t know this at all. He ignored the world war of 1939 just as he ignored the world war of 1914.

The last time I saw Bouffier was in June 1945. He was already eighty-seven years old at that time.

When I drove into the highlands, I couldn't believe my eyes. The river gurgled into the pond, and a Bodhi tree was planted beside the pond. The original ruins have been restored into brand new buildings, and the surrounding vegetable beds and gardens are neatly planted with a variety of cabbages, roses, leeks, snapdragons and autumn peonies.

Although the land has just been baptized by war, there are already signs of recovery. The hillside is covered with fields of wheat and rye; under the long and narrow valley, the grass begins to turn green. In just eight years, the entire highland has taken on a new look, exuding the light of health and prosperity. All this must be attributed to Elzea Bouffier.

This man taught us that we can turn a wasteland into fertile soil with just his actions and his inner qualities.

Herzeal Bouffier died in a nursing home in Banon, France in 1947.

Appreciation of "The Shepherd Who Planted Trees":

The French writer Jean Gioneau wrote a famous novel about a shepherd who lived in isolation for nearly half a century. Perseverance in planting trees proves that "lonely people can find happiness." This shepherd did not know the war of 1914 or the war of 1939. He dealt with trees every day and depended on them. He used the language of his heart to communicate with them. He talked among the trees, communicated silently, and lived an "indifferent life." He confirmed through personal experience that lonely people "have found a good way to live a happy and happy life - love makes life more sunny.

This person The shepherd has been in an uninhabited area for decades. Every time he plants a tree, he feels that he has another family member in the world. His career is "a career comparable to God. Because it is full of ideas that transform the real world." Strong desire and extreme love for trees. In practice, this shepherd gradually discovered the interdependent relationship between man and land, man and nature. He deeply realized that the value of life lies in serving others and benefiting future generations. Happiness is not a It is a state. It is a state of mind. Life is full of busyness. But people can still choose to live on the earth poetically. Life is cumbersome and difficult. But a peaceful mind and full of enthusiasm will play wonderful music!

< p>Love is the source of life. If there is no spring of love in a person's heart, there will be no shade of life. With love, even if your eyes are full of dark clouds and the ground is full of thorns, you will be full of infinite fascination with this world. And fascination. Love makes people become unique animals. The lack of material will only lead to difficulty in life. The lack of love will make life empty and the soul lonely. What is heartbreaking is that in this era where material worship is becoming more and more important. .Some people become eager for quick success and quick success. Material things control their souls. Their spiritual world is like a dry desert. If the mind is not lacking, the body will not be tired.

Some people say. Work like ants. Like butterflies. The same life. Such a person's life must be as bright and beautiful as the sun. Successful scientist Napoleon Hill once said: "There are only small differences between people. But this small difference can cause huge consequences." The difference. A small difference is a positive mentality or a negative mentality. The huge difference is success and failure. Love can make people understand sadness and pain. At the same time, it can also make people get rid of sadness and pain. It makes ordinary life full of interest and Meaning. In his later years, the famous British poet Rand wrote in a poem: "I will not argue with anyone. I will disdain anyone to argue with. I love nature. The second is art. I bake my hands with the fire of life to keep warm. Fire Withered. I'm ready to go too - this little poem by Rand shows an old man who walks into the twilight and expresses his understanding and calmness, his positive and optimistic attitude towards life and his tranquility and indifference. A realm of life washed away by lead. Love makes life multiplied. Sunshine. Isn’t this the same for the shepherds who plant trees?

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Appreciation 2 of "The Shepherd Who Planted Trees": There is a state of happiness called simplicity

People should stick to their beliefs and ethics. To pursue the light in their hearts, they can endure loneliness. Live in loneliness. Love is a kind of virtue. Sublime love. It can not only experience beauty, but also create beauty. Love is a seed. Whoever sows love can harvest beauty. Comments: Loneliness. Loneliness is the shadow of life. Love is the welcome The messenger of light is a source of warmth and strength in life. The article starts from a story in a book. Using the story of a shepherd, it proves the principle that "love makes life more sunny. It leads some people in today's society The eagerness for quick success and quick success has caused the spiritual world to dry up. It raises issues that society should pay attention to and think about. Then it quotes a poem by Rand in his later years to tell people that the attitude that life should have is indifference and tranquility. Let life be full of love and sunshine. !The language of the article is philosophical and the stories are quoted well. The quotations of famous quotes are like the finishing touch. The author's thoughts shine between the lines.

A person who has been doing the same thing for decades without questioning or complaining is like a god. There are no extravagant desires or selfish desires, and the ordinary and extraordinary step by step is a huge shock. I guess only with such a selfless mind and a focused mind can we approach such an ideal~! I don't say he is great, because he just follows his own thoughts, like an ascetic who only has his own beliefs and nothing else in his heart.

There is a state of happiness called simplicity.

This kind of happiness seems ordinary but difficult to achieve.

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Appreciation 3:

In this work, I saw a person How great the power is, but also how small a person's power is.

Just by the efforts of one person, a barren land can be turned into a forest, but it can only turn this place into a forest. If a group of people come to cut down the forest, the forest will disappear in a short time. But if everyone planted trees, what would the world look like? Think about it again, in fact, as long as there is one such person among ten thousand people, it is good enough.

Forests are decreasing year by year, rare species are on the verge of extinction, grassland desertification, global warming, etc. Are these problems really so difficult to control? I'm not a professional, but looking at this man's story, it seems that one person can change a lot of things. In addition to planting trees for show every Arbor Day, people may be determined to do more things to change the status quo.

I would like to recommend this work to my friends and everyone I know. This short film tells us that as long as everyone reduces the behavior that pollutes the environment, together we can contribute to environmental protection. Make unimaginable contributions to your career!

Let’s take a look at the “bad behavior” of some people now. Now everyone is calling for environmental protection. Some people shout louder, but their actual behavior is very different from what they say. If you ask him to plant a few trees, he feels too insignificant; if he has an empty plastic bottle in his hand, he just throws it away. It's still the old saying - don't do evil because it's small, don't do good because it's small.