Manicured Park Or Wilderness

I used to jog in a large well manicured park a stone's throw from my house. The grass was neatly trimmed. Precisely spaced apple trees lined the pathway. There was a water fountain, a rose garden, an artificial waterfall, a pond, a gazebo. It was a dream park.

Occasionally, I would jog in the nature trail a little further away. Slowly it dawned to me that the nature trail had such a different quality to it. What was it about the nature trail? Was it the sound of the water in the meandering stream? Was it the rustling of the leaves on the mature trees?

The abundance of life in the wilderness struck me! The sound of the crickets, snails everywhere, fungi, red and black caterpillars crawling slowly, dragonflies, butterflies and the bees, the rabbits safe behind the dense growth of trees, the squirrels far up on the trees, birds of all kinds, small slithery snakes, and raccoons.

I realized that a park simply lacks the community required to sustain life. The wilderness provides food and a safe, sheltered environment for just about every form of life. A landscaped park is a sub-standard version of the wilderness. Needless to say, I haven't felt the urge to visit the park very often.

It reminded me of what Thoreau said "In wildness is the preservation of the world."

Dadirri : Deep Listening

I recently read about "Dadirri". It has always been a big part in the lives of the Aboriginal people of Australia. According to  Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann, Aboriginal writer

“Dadirri is inner, deep listening and quiet, still awareness. Dadirri recognises the deep spring that is inside us. We call on it and it calls to us.

When I experience dadirri, I am made whole again. I can sit on the riverbank or walk through the trees; even if someone close to me has passed away, I can find my peace in this silent awareness. There is no need of words. A big part of dadirri is listening.”

“In our Aboriginal way, we learnt to listen from our earliest days. We could not live good and useful lives unless we listened. This was the normal way for us to learn - not by asking questions. We learnt by watching and listening, waiting and then acting.”

“My people are not threatened by silence. They are completely at home in it. They have lived for thousands of years with Nature’s quietness. My people today, recognize and experience this quietness, the great Life-Giving Spirit, the Father of us all.”

Grateful for an ordinary day

There was a time in my life when I yearned for an ordinary day. My two year old daughter was very sick for a period of six months. She had surgery a few days before my son was born. I was torn between caring for a sick child and a new born.

All that I wished for then was an ordinary day where the children are healthy and happily playing around. A day where we go about doing our normal chores, enjoy simple home cooked food, laugh, talk and cuddle up on the sofa.

I live my life with the backdrop of this knowledge. I am grateful for every single day!
I know how perfect a "normal" day is. How beautiful "ordinary" things are.

A lone "Red Cardinal"

I took a different path today and walked into the nature trail despite all the snow. The sun was shining brightly. At a fork in the trail, I decided to walk towards a dense forest of pines.

In the thickset of tall bushes along the stream, I could hear different bird songs. I stood still on the bridge when lo and behold, I spot a lone red cardinal on a leafless tree. The red color standing out in the background of white and gray. The shy bird stayed there just for a few seconds before disappearing.

(Picture courtesy: http://pinterest.com/shjoll /red-cardinal/)                         

 
Small black, white and grey birds flitted about among the branches. I found out that the tiny yet plump birds are the Black-capped Chickadee.  

 

  (Picture courtesy :montananaturalist.blogspot.com)

Cedar Waxwing

My daily walks are always filled with surprises. I wondered what is in store for me today ..

As I walk on my regular path, a whole flock of birds swish past me and settle on a bare leafless tree. I stopped on my tracks, tiptoed close to the tree and peered up to get a closer look at them. What wonderful little birds! All of the same kind, sitting proud with their eyes looking far ahead. Tiny birds with the colors of brown and gray, a beautiful brown crest on its little head and a yellow tipped tail. It looked as if each bird was gently held and its tail dipped ever so slightly into bright yellow paint. The air was filled with the thin whistles of the birds.

All of a sudden, the birds fly up from the tree together, go around to settle again on top of another tree. What a display of exquisite aeronautics...like a trained troop of synchronized dancers. Are they a variant of the red cardinal? They had a similar crest. I had to go home and find out!

It turns out the birds were a flock of Cedar Waxwings! To know that I have lived in Canada for 10 years and to have never seen one before.

(Picture courtesy: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/cedar_waxwing/id)

The anticipation of Spring

A mid-day walk on a quiet sunny March day along the road lining the lake and I hear a big rumpus up ahead. A few steps down the road and I get a full view of the lake swarming with geese with a spotting of a few mallard ducks here are there. The ice on the lake is barely melting, and all the Canadian geese are back!.

Oh! what a cacophony! The geese are in a frenzy of activity. Honking and grunting. A few standing tall, thrusting their chest forward and swiftly fluttering their powerful wings. A few others are vigorously preening and some others are somersaulting in the lake trying to clean their backs. Each one of them shaking off the last remnants of the winter blues.

I stood still watching them for how long I know not... I was reminded of the Kumbh Mela in India when scores of Indians flock to the Ganges.

They were getting ready for the spring and another wonderful season of life!  Mating, laying eggs, raising the goslings. I looked around and couldn't help but smile. The sunny sky, a gentle breeze so slightly warm. The air was pregnant with the anticipation of Spring and so was I

Kayena Vacha - An offering to the divine

Kayena vacha manasendriyairva
Buddhyatmana va prakrite swabhavath
Karoomi yadyad sakalam parasmai
Narayanayeti samarpayami


Whatever I do for others with my physical being, through words, thought, senses, intellect, heart, soul and innate tendencies, I offer everything to the divine. 

Stay close to mother nature

A man's heart away from nature becomes hard - is an old Lakota saying

The more we are surrounded by inanimate things, the more deadened we become. Our senses die a slow death and so do we. Buildings, cars, concrete, plastics, computers and devices. Our days are lifeless, spent tied to desks prodding on computers and our evenings are worse, spent flopped in front of the TV. We become insensitive to everything .. smells, tastes, sounds, feelings and our surroundings.

To be alive is to feel deeply and intensely. To be awake with every sense. This is only possible in the lap of mother nature always throbbing and pulsing with life. Simply dig the earth gently and you will see the soft soil teeming with life.


..when you strain your ears to hear a far away bird song..
..when you see the multitude of hues in the evening sky..
..when you feel the cool softness of the grass under your bare feet..
..when you stop to smell a wild sage leaf..
..when you watch the fluttering leaves on a tree...like a million sparkling diamonds of a magnificent chandelier.  You are alive!!

To be alive is to be surrounded with life in all its forms.

Why fix the house when the home is crumbing?

We are all guilty of doing this. We want to perfect our house. The interiors, the deck, the kitchen, the garden, the furnishings. The list is endless. The amount of time, money and effort we spend on this means we have less time to ourselves, less time with our loved ones, less patience, less family time.

The few precious hours of leisure required for rest and rejuvenation is now devoted to perfecting the house, a mere physical structure. All this leads to a stress filled home, putting a big strain on our personal relationships and happiness. Slowly and steadily, the "home" starts to break down.

Why then do we embark on the futile exercise of perfecting the house when the home is crumbing? If only we can use our time to build the "home". To fix our relationships, to fill our homes with joy and laughter, to relax and enjoy a quiet weekend.