"Lives of great men all remind us,
we can make our lives sublime,
and, departing, leave behind us,
footprints on the sands of time."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I have lived in Thailand for the past 12 years or so and visiting various rural locations in North and Southern Thailand I was able to witness first hand the enormous benefit that His late Majesty bestowed on the Thai people, his children.
Many foreigners are not fully aware that this wonderful man possessed enormous vision and know how. He was able to survey every region of this beautiful land and understand directly the importance of its resources and the need for their effective sustainable management for the sake of future generations. He cared deeply about all his people and dedicated his entire life, from an early age, to achieving these goals.
He worked to ensure the protection of the incredible bio diversity that Thailand has to offer. HM worked on a vast array of projects ranging from cloud seeding, crop innovation,water management, infrastructure, forest protection and conservation through to self-sufficiency integrated farming methods. He gave his people the chance to learn how to “fish”, how to use the vast natural wealth of the land in order to enjoy a good and comfortable life wanting for nothing. He taught about living off the land without destroying its resources and depleting them.
In the West we appear to have taken a different approach which is very sad. Unlike in Thailand people (with few exceptions) have come to depend on huge corporations for their livelihoods and have lost the art and imagination to be self-sustaining.
Thailand has had a long line of great monarchs: many of them were advanced thinkers, scientists and innovators and could see well into the future: one of the reasons that I believe Thailand was never fully colonized by any major power. HM was a musician, embraced and understood science and technology, was a conservationist, a father to all of his people irrespective of their religion. He did not speak much: a reflection of a true, wise and golden heart.
I know that I miss his presence that served as a uniting force for the country. I will attempt to keep his inspiration in my heart and do what I can to follow his example. It is the best way to keep his spirit with us.
The world has lost a great man, the universe has regained one of its finest lights.