Walk lightly in the spring ..

Snail and baby

With all the rains we've been getting this spring, the snails and slugs are out all over the place. It is almost impossible to walk or jog without crushing a lot of them. Most of them are little ones just starting to move out from beneath the surface of the soil where they were born. No wonder the wise native Americans urge us to "Walk lightly in the spring, for Mother Earth is pregnant"

All the great sages of India walked barefoot. Jain monks and nuns always walk barefoot to show respect and reverence to the earth and to avoid crushing any bugs or insects. They stepped lightly on the earth always not just in the spring.

Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet - Thich Nhat Hanh

Tribute to Acorn School

Feeling sorry for the dead baby bird

It is with a tinge of sadness that I write this post. Acorn School where my children spent their earliest years is closing down today! The greatest thing they learnt from their early days at Acorn School is a love for nature, a keen sense of observation and wonder. This picture taken a week ago is ample proof that all your children will carry this curiosity throughout their lives.

Great oaks from little acorns grow!  Thanks you Acorn School, Rosalba and all the wonderful teachers!! 

The Mute Swan's eggs have hatched!! :)

The new Swan family

An uncontainable joy and excitement is bubbling within me. My mom-in-law just told me that the mute swan's eggs have hatched and there are four little cygnets. We have been observing the pair for over a month now and I was beginning to worry that this was a false pregnancy and nothing good was going to come after this long arduous wait.

I can't wait to head to the lake and sit watching them, but real life pressures prevents me from such luxuries today. I have to finish my day's work, but I plan to head to the lake after picking up the kids from school. The next few months are going to be exciting as we watch the little cygnets grow and adapt to their new world. I know I will be spending a lot of time by the lake side. Everyday holds so much excitement now!!

Words can not express the joy of new life - Hermann Hesse

Live and Let Live 'tis the great law of nature

Swan, Heron and Ducks

I cherish the luxury of leisure that lets me wander about in the woods in the afternoon before picking up my children from school. Especially on a day like yesterday with the sun shining brightly on a perfect spring day! I soak in the sights and sounds of the birds, insects and all the creatures great and small.

Today's offerings were irresistibly sweet. I got to watch a nesting swan sitting calmly on her eggs, the shy and elusive blue heron preening under the warm sun, the mallard duck and her eight little ducklings thrashing about in the water. All these birds were sharing a small area along the lake in harmony, in no way threatened by the proximity of the other.

Need I say more? Live and Let Live 'tis the great law of nature.

Gift Of Wings : Song by Jack Grunsky

What a beautiful song by Canadian singer and songwriter Jack Grunsky!! My son learnt this song in his kindergarten class and sang it last week for his school's 10th anniversary celebration. The tune just caught on to me. As a parent there are so many wonderful messages I can take from this song. Here are my thoughts and interpretation of this song...

Show me days of wonder
New roads to travel on
Help me make discoveries
Teach me a brand new song
(We must let our children be free so they can wonder about everything they see. We must travel and explore and show them new places and things. We must give them enough leisure so they can make new discoveries. We must sing and dance and learn with them as they learn new songs.)

Show me where I come from
So much to realize
Show me where I’m going to
And open up my eyes
(As newcomers to another country, we must teach our children where they came from, the culture of their parents land and also the culture of their new home. This knowledge will keep them rooted so they can go forward into the future with confidence taking with them the knowledge of the old and the learnings of the new)

If you will take me heart
If you will teach me all these things
You’re giving me the gift of wings
(All these wonderful lessons on life will give our children new wings and let them soar like they should!)

Show me all the beauty
Everywhere to see
Open up the gate
Set my imagination free
(Instead of the rush and monotony of the daily grind, we must show them everything that is beautiful in this world. We must take them into the lap of mother nature where beauty is everywhere as far as the eyes can see.)  

Teach me to express myself
In many different ways
Build my sense of worthiness
For all of my days
(We must show the children how they can fully express themselves physically, emotionally and also intellectually. We must instil in them worthiness by teaching them responsibility towards themselves, their family, friends, community and the environment. We must teach them to give freely of themselves to others through charity and generosity, volunteering and helping those in need in their neighborhoods and community)

Help me find my colours
Help me bring them to the light
So that I may paint my dreams
Strong and beautiful and bright
(We must help our children find what they love doing and help them to realize them daily.)

Teach the joy of learning
To make the magic last
I’ll take into the future
All the love in my past
(Instead of cramming them with information and snuffing out the joy in learning, we must slowly kindle in them the joy of learning, so the joy lasts for all the days of their lives. The love of learning should grow as we grow and be carried to a ripe old age. That is the magic of life!! We must give them so much love and happiness because this is what they take into the future and to the generations yet to come!!)

If you will take me heart
If you will teach me all these things
You’re giving me the gift of wings

Selfless community service: I salute Joe Agg

Joe Agg cleaning up the ravines

These days it is very rare to find individuals who are truly selfless, who work for the benefit of all without expectations of any return. When I do meet such people, a great sense of hope fills me and inspires me. Joe Agg is one such person that I have had the honor to meet recently.

A 70 year old environmentalist and member of the Richmond Hill Naturists, Joe has been working tirelessly for years to cleanup up the creeks, trails and forests in Richmond Hill with small groups of volunteers.

Joe was the first one to arrive and support us at our cleanup drive last week with the required equipment. We cleaned up a large area around the lake. Now as I go on my regular walks along the trails and see it clean and green, I feel happy to have played a small part in this. My husband and I joined Joe again last saturday and cleaned up another entrance to the trail that starts at Toporowski Avenue. Joe taught me a valuable lesson that day, that if we don't like the litter around us, there is no shame in bending over to pick it up. Read more about Joe Agg's service to our community. ( Richmond Hill man continues creek cleaning,
Resident gets knee-deep in the muck to clean our creeks )

What is the point of our lives if we are of service to none?? The purpose of our lives is to love and serve and experience the joy of service!! 

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy. - Rabindranath Tagore

A Dirge For Mother Earth

The great Malayalam poet ONV Kurup mourns deeply for the impending death of our beloved mother earth in his poem Bhoomikkoru Charamageetham. He pens this funeral song for her in advance as no one is going to remain to tend to her in her last hours. The poet paints an unforgettable image of what the human race has done to mother earth and the shame that we all have to live with. This is a haunting dirge that will stay with me forever!

ഇനിയും മരിക്കാത്ത ഭൂമി! നിന്നാസന്ന-
മൃതിയില്‍ നിനക്കാത്മശാന്തി!
ഇത് നിന്റെ (എന്റെയും) ചരമശുശ്രൂഷയ്ക്ക്
ഹൃദയത്തിലിന്നേ കുറിച്ച ഗീതം.
Still not dead Mother Earth! In your impending death, peace to your soul .This song is for your (and mine too) funeral, penned straight from my heart. 

മൃതിയുടെ കറുത്ത വിഷപുഷ്പം വിടര്‍ന്നതിന്‍-
നിഴലില്‍ നീ നാളെ മരവിക്കേ,
ഉയിരറ്റനിന്‍മുഖത്തശ്രു ബിന്ദുക്കളാല്‍
ഉദകം പകര്‍ന്നു വിലപിക്കാന്‍
ഇവിടെയവശേഷിക്കയില്ലാരു, മീ ഞാനും!
ഇതു നിനക്കായ് ഞാന്‍ കുറിച്ചീടുന്നു ;
ഇനിയും മരിക്കാത്ത ഭൂമി ! നിന്നാസന്ന-
മൃതിയില്‍ നിനക്കാത്മശാന്തി!
Under the dark shadow of deaths black poisonous flowers, when you die tomorrow, no one remains , including me to wipe the tears off your lifeless face, or to give you a few sips of water and cry. For you I write this song now.  Still not dead Mother Earth! In your impending death, peace to your soul.

പന്തിരുകുലം പെറ്റ പറയിക്കുമമ്മ നീ
എണ്ണിയാല് തീരാത്ത,
തങ്ങളിലിണങ്ങാത്ത
സന്തതികളെ നൊന്തു പെറ്റു!
ഒന്നു മറ്റൊന്നിനെ കൊന്നു തിന്നുന്നത്
കണ്ണാലെ കണ്ടിട്ടുമൊരുവരും കാണാതെ
കണ്ണീരൊഴുക്കി നീ നിന്നൂ!
പിന്നെ, നിന്നെത്തന്നെയല്പാല്പമായ്ത്തിന്നുഃ
തിന്നവര് തിമിര്ക്കവേ ഏതും വിലക്കാതെ
നിന്നു നീ സര്വംസഹയായ്!
You are the mother to the outcast who delivered 12 children. Enduring a lot of pain, you delivered countess children who have no love among themselves. You have seen with your own eyes as one kills and eats the other and you stood there crying hiding your tears so no one sees. Then little by little they even started eating you. Those who ate rejoiced, but you did not stop them. You stood there helplessly bearing all the pain.
 

 More to come..