WHY MOW THE LAWN?
Bit of an obvious answer to that one isn't there? I mean it's because the grass is long isn't it? And we know what happens when the grass gets long, it looks, well, long. Actually strictly speaking it gets taller but anyway, that doesn't really matter. And that's just the point. It doesn't really matter. If we never mowed the lawn the grass would just get longer (taller) and eventually the grass would be brought down by its own weight. And later on rain, snow, hail and frost would make it die and in the Spring it would enjoy a resurgence.
So back to the question: why do we mow the lawn? We mow the lawn because then it looks pretty. We mow the lawn because we want our patch to look good. And what difference will that make to our lives and the lives of others? Not one jot. Sure, we may get an emotional kick from the look of the lawn, a sense of achievement at having done the job, a sense of comfort that we again 'fit in' (our lawn looking as well as or better than the Jones's we struggle to keep up with).
In Mozambique, in Syria, in the poorest areas of Brazil are people worried about the mowing of their lawns or equivalent patches of scrub earth? Not one bit. They are focusing on survival. They have their priorities in order. Those who have walked with the sick and the dying on their journey to another life have the benefit of an awareness that such trivialities are of no ultimate consequence.
Today I left a meeting in a department of the Irish Government. The lawn had just been mowed and rolled and it looked, well, immaculate. A landscaper struggled with his leaf blower in the torrential rain to ensure that no grass clippings would be left on the paved walkways. I am sure that, when he was finished, it would look, anew, perfect.
So the lawns get mowed, the cars get polished, and a new (one year old) public sector office I know is currently getting a 'small' refurbishment at a cost of more than €5,000 to the Irish taxpayer so that it will look, well, nicer. On Tuesday this week we witnessed the signing off on a budget that once again discriminates not on one’s financial status but, lazily, on some random criteria: being young, being old, being pregnant, being dead, the list goes on.
But don't worry, there's still money left to mow the lawn.
