Month: December 2014

Day 46

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This evening I went out to see the glistening mountain range in the light of the setting sun. The scene was exquisite to say the least. The colours, the ambience, the silence, the overlapping hills making layers upon layers, a bit of dreamlike mist in between the layers, a few twinkling lights on hillsides – altogether a spell-binding landscape! I just stood there completely mesmerised!

I happened to turn around only to find the taxi driver looking utterly bored! On starting up a conversation with him, he said none of the locals cared about any of this.

That is us. People, places, things, activities – how many of these we think will always be there for us. Do we really stop and look at how wonderful the people we have in our lives are? Do we take enough time to tell them how much they mean to us? Do we make them feel good about themselves? Are we truly grateful for them everyday? The same goes for the ability to be able to ride a bike, walk and talk, to have the food of our choice, to have nice clothes to wear, to be able to see and appreciate beautiful sights, to be able to hear and enjoy conversations and music, fresh bed linen, tea served at the perfect temperature, so on and so forth.

If my son saw what I have just written, he would say – ”You are so ‘soft’! Such a ‘light-weight’!” I know. I love you too. 🙂

Day 45

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Here I am at the foothills of the Himalayas – just gazing at the awe inspiring mountain range, shimmering in the sun, strong and steady, unshakable and resolute! These mountains have been here for 20 million years, giving rise to life-giving rivers for large masses of people for hundreds of generations! Their sheer magnificence is breath taking! Me and my problems seem tiny in front of them.

Today I was on the phone for an hour with the investigators of the case and had to relive a lot of facts and feelings from the recent past. It was painful to say the least. I had to sit down with my eyes closed for an hour, breathing and meditating, before I could gather myself up again. I don’t know what I would do if I did not have these basic tools to help me deal with my emotions. It is sad that in school we all are taught stuff that enables us to make a living but not enough to help us live artfully. In fact some of us may not even know the difference between these two.

Very few children have any exposure to practices that help them take their attention inwards. It may sound unnatural to even expect them to be able to do that. But, it is not. It is a basic life skill. I am grateful for having had the opportunity to learn and practise these skills at the age of 40. Better late than never. 🙂