It is the journey not the destination..

Life is a journey..

Summer travel can be stressful and exhausting..especially for mothers who need to plan out every minute detail, coordinate, pack and unpack. It is only when I get into the passenger seat of the car and my husband is incharge of the steering that I actually sit back and relax. Once we reach the destination, the frenzy starts again with unloading, unpacking, activities and food.

I enjoy the journey..listening to music and staring out into the vast expanses. We take the time to eat at a good restaurant, stop at coffee shops and obscure places along the way that catches our interest and let the children run and jump about and explore. 

With our last camping trip being a complete washout with heavy rains, the journey ended up being the best part of our trip. Just as in every little trip, so with life too ..the journey is perhaps more important than the destination..

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving - Lao Tzu

The sad fate of the swans..

The swan parade

When the cygnets were born early June, the world rejoiced! Humans and all winged creatures gave them a grand ovation. The proud mother paraded around the lake showing off her beautiful little ones.

Just a week after, the swans and the cygnets went missing without a trace. No feathers or signs of any struggle! A few of us walked all around the lake looking for them. I contacted the Richmond Hill authorities who promptly sent a team to scour the area ..but alas they were nowhere to be found! Several nature groups in the area got back to me saying that the cygnets must have fallen prey to predators.

Towards the end of June the parent swans returned to the lake alone. It was heartbreaking to see them without the babies as I was a witness to all their struggles over the last few months. Last week, they relocated to another secluded swamp in the area. As if in mourning..they spend their days in quiet isolation ..away from any peering eyes, trying to reconcile to this sad fate.

We meet where Science meets Spirituality ...

 

I've always noticed the stark difference in the books that I read and the ones my husband reads. He picks books that are mostly related to math and science. The books I read are related to spirituality, philosophy, nature and poetry. He tries to unravel the mysteries of the universe through science and I through spirituality.

On our nature walks with our children, I will show them the beauty of the wildflowers and my husband will show them the beauty of Fibonacci numbers in the petal arrangements on the same flower.

Mostly our views on life are similar and we agree on things that matter. So I am confident that somewhere Science must meet Spirituality!! .. :)

A cup of tea and some quiet solitude ..

For me there is no greater pleasure than a cup of tea and some quiet solitude. These interludes are hard to come by, but when they do, I cherish them so dearly. This is when thoughts and ideas come rushing into my head from I know not where ..filling it up quickly. I start feeling the pressure and I somehow need to empty them from my brain to make room for more. These thoughts take the shape of an article on my blog after a bit of writing and reorganizing..

A cup of tea and quiet solitude ...

I never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude - Henry David Thoreau 

My Heart Soars..

Poem by Chief Dan George

The beauty of the trees,

the softness of the air,

the fragrance of the grass,

      speaks to me.

The summit of the mountain,

the thunder of the sky,

the rhythm of the sea,

      speaks to me. 

The faintness of the stars,

the freshness of the morning,

the dew drop on the flower,

     speaks to me.

The strength of the fire,

the taste of the salmon,

the trail of the sun,

And the life that never goes away,

    They speak to me.

And my heart soars.

How we spend our days ..

Another beautiful day ends...

Lately I feel that I am always rushing. There is something that pushes me to take on more, do more and pack up my life with activities. It is the negative "habit energy" as Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh calls it. Time and again, I have to remind myself to stop and reevaluate what I am doing. I have to remind myself to slow down and cut the restlessness.

If our days are rushed and full of stress, that's what our life is ...rushed and stressful! Life is not to be lived on weekends and vacations, life is lived in every ordinary day!

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” - Annie Dillard