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Day 747

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“Hi! How was your holiday?”
“Don’t know yet. Haven’t looked at the pictures.”

It’s great to have the ability to take photographs with phones, tablets and cameras but do they enhance an experience or take away from it? Beyond a point, are they a distraction? Do they really capture in its entirety, the moment, the feeling, the memory?

On the boat ride yesterday, we didn’t have a camera. Yay! The experience of the calm undulating waves, the moisture-laden soothing breeze on the skin, the passing fishy odours, the thin film of brown wood-dust in short stretches, the tapering frothy bluish-white tail of the motor, the pencil thin, perfectly horizontal line demarcating the dark blue of the Indian ocean from the light blue of the African sky, the squelch at the bottom of the boat, the massive phoenix shaped cloud, the mixed sounds of the engine, the turbulence and conversations in Swahili would have been too much for any camera. The only way to carry it home was to close my eyes and soak it all in.

When I feel the squelching of my shoes in the freezing, wet English November, I shall have to stop for a moment and close my eyes.

Day 746

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Remember Me

To the living, I am gone,
To the sorrowful, I will never return,
To the angry, I was cheated,
But to the happy, I am at peace,
And to the faithful, I have never left.
I cannot speak, but I can listen.
I cannot be seen, but I can be heard.
So as you stand upon a shore gazing at a beautiful sea
As you look upon a flower and admire it’s simplicity
Remember Me.
Remember me in your heart.
Your thoughts, and your memories,
Of the times we loved,
The times we cried,
The times we fought,
The times we laughed.
For if you always think of me,
I will never have gone.

Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free
I’m following the path God has laid you see.
I took His hand when I heard him call
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day
To laugh, to love, to work, to play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way
I found that peace at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss
Oh yes, these things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life’s been full, I savoured much
Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your hearts and peace to thee
God wanted me now; He set me free.

-By Margaret Mead

I don’t have to remember you my darling. You are a part of me. You are all around me.

You are in the corals that remind me of the heathers of Yorkshire, in the synchronised swimming of hundreds of tiny translucent silver fish, the branched purple candelabra like things sitting at the bottom of the ocean. You are in the sparkle and shimmer of the sun rays dancing on the little sea waves, in the changing moods of the ocean, the jade, emerald and turquoise of the waters, in the peacock-feather colours borrowed by the fish, the white sands and the multiple hopeful shoots underneath the mangroves, in the cool sea-breeze. I don’t have to remember you my darling. You are my joy and peace, in heaven and on earth. I love you. xxx

Day 745

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It’s interesting to watch myself trying to post a blog everyday while here in a remote little place in Africa. Something so ‘basic’ that I have not had to worry about it at all except one time in India. The only device that connects to the ‘flimsy’ wi-fi is the phone. I have eight minutes left before the generator goes off and the acuity of my vision is not what it used to be.

The things we take for granted – water, electricity, food, our health, the people in our lives, fish in the sea, trees in a forest …. and now the World Wide Web at our feet!

Well, I wish myself better luck for tomorrow. It’s late now. Nearly 10 pm! Goodnight! 🙂

Day 744

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Walking along the beach this evening, it was fascinating to see the mangrove, the shells and the abundance of life all around. I was tempted to pick a few shells as souvenirs but then I remembered the conversation we had with the lady who runs the lodge where we are staying. She is very well versed with the local plant and animal life and all matters to do with conservation.

I learnt from her that removal of shells from beaches could damage ecosystems and endanger organisms that rely on shells for their survival. This has been supported by scientific research. It is not just humans picking shells but grooming of sand with heavy machinery for tourism and use of recreational vehicles on the beach that cause a lot of damage to delicate ecosystems.

Seashells are an important part of coastal ecosystems: they provide materials for birds’ nests, a home or attachment surface for algae, sea grass, sponges and a host of other microorganisms. Fish use them to hide from predators, and hermit crabs use them as temporary shelters. The removal of large shells and shell fragments also has the potential to alter the rate of shoreline erosion.

So, instead of pocketing the pretty shells we just took a picture of them and left them on the beach where they belong.

 

 

Day 743

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Being in a sunny place is lovely as long as I am not directly in the sun. Similarly, being next to a large water body is really soothing as long as I am not directly in the water. I have never felt comfortable in water. Although I pride myself on the regular practise of breathing exercises, when it comes to breathing in water, I am all coughs and splutters. I can swim the length of one breath at one time. While on land I think I am well coordinated, in water I am as clumsy as a drunk elephant.

Somehow I was gently persuaded to have a diving lesson this morning. The instructor, Joseph seemed calm and proficient. I had a short introduction to the theory, the kit and the sign language. Getting into the wetsuit was a bit of a wriggle. We had a trial run in the clear blue swimming pool and went through some of the essential skills.

I had serious reservations about the real thing as I was sure I would panic and make a mess of it. But I tumbled off the boat into the water and descended. It was like being in space. The buoyancy was like nothing I’ve experienced before and the view mesmerising. I single-mindedly stuck with slow long breaths, in and out, in and out through the mouth. Every now and then I equalised the pressure in my ears and cleared my mask and that was it. I lost sense of my limbs and fins. Joseph was in-charge and I was all eyes. I felt like an intruder in this happy, peaceful, magical place. The floor and walls were covered in a carpet of colourful corals where many gorgeous fish of all shapes and sizes played hide and seek. A shoal of tiny silver ones swam right over me. To experience such ecstasy in complete silence made it extra special. The silence made me feel very close to Saagar but I missed him. He didn’t get to learn diving. He would have loved it.

Today’s dive was for you my darling. Love you. xxx