Reflections

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Just Open Your Sense Doors

This week,

I saw an eagle fly really low.  Under a thick canopy of trees.

It was mesmerizing.

 

I listened to the rhythm of rain drops.  On the glass rooftop of my conservatory.

It was a harmonious melody.

 

I felt the weight of my worn out blanket.  On my tired shoulders.

It was tranquilizing.

 

I smelled the autumn air.  Out there in the forest.

That grounded me.

 

I tasted the pear.  In my season’s salad.

It was delectable.

 

This week,

I met my life.  In all its beauty.

By just opening my sense doors.

 

With my apologies to Descartes,

I sense, therefore I am.

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Autumn!

Autumn is here!

 

Leaves.

They once were tender shoots,

and then grew up to be green leaves.

In the autumn phase of their life,

they have new tricks up their sleeves.

 

They are done with making food,

they are done with cleaning air,

they are beginning a new adventure

drifting from safe havens to an uncertain there.

 

Throwing caution to the winds,

donning yellows and vibrant reds,

no fuss and with zero drama,

they are still turning everyone’s heads.

 

They seem to float in the air

with no seeming purpose on hand,

but that’s OK with them, because to them –

They are just dancing before they land.

 

Autumn of life is here!

 

Humans.

They once were cutie-pie babies,

and then grew up to be young and bold.

In the autumn phase of their life,

they are ready for new magic to unfold.

 

They are done with raising family,

they are done with making homes.

They are starting on a new adventure,

with lots of wisdom in their bones.

 

Throwing ‘what will people say’ to the winds,

donning new interests and styles,

they step out in a world ridden with unease

with cool, calm heads and heartful smiles.

 

They have become the elders of the world, 

with reading glasses and first wrinkles on their hands,

but that’s OK with them, because to them –

They are just dancing before they land.

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Just be!

No need to perform

No need to do

No need to act

Can we just have a moment – to be?

 

In this moment of calm

when the mind is all still

There is no need for me to prove

my worth, to you, or even to me.

 

With this ‘non-act’ of being

I wake up to my real life.

I am not lost in what was

and what may never happen to be.

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A Fleeting Moment of Gratitude!

A fleeting moment of gratitude

just crept up on me.

No warning, no notice –

it just happened to be!

 

Without any reason or trigger,

I am in midst of it’s grace.

Now that I am held by it,

I don’t want to lose this embrace.

 

It feels good in the body,

as my shoulders destress.

I can see a smile being born

in the depth of my chest.

 

My heart feels bigger,

warmth gushes through my veins.

Mind is at ease, slowly

letting go of its reins.

 

What am I grateful for?

Is it health? Is it wealth? Is it love or success?

But none of these are constants,

they are just part of the process.

 

When I am thankful for the present moment,

it feels right to the core.

There is no yearning for this

or for that anymore.

 

There is peace in not wanting,

there is calm in that mode.

Ahhhh…the irony of me

wanting to remain in that abode!

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Willingness To Be Small

I have travelled to churches,
I have visited many mosques,
I have frequented the temples,
beautiful carved out of rocks.

Why do I find them sacred,
why do they look holy and pure?
What is the their mystery,
what is their allure?

Is it the magnificence of the spires?
Is it the waft of the incense?
Or is it the lingering sound of bells,
stirring up each of my bodily sense?

In these places, I may bow down my head,
I might even kneel to the ground.
Most often, I sit in silence
to quieten the world around.

I think it is the stillness in my heart,
with my willingness to be small,
and neither the incense nor the bells
that create sanctity in these halls!

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This Present Moment

This temptation to fly to an

imaginary future,

or slide into an alternate reality –

resist it!

 

Neither your day dreams

nor your nightmares

may turn out

to be real.

 

Come instead, and abide

in the sureness of this moment.

I invite you –

to be with the certainty of right here.

To live with the crispness of right now, and

experience the vividness of this present moment.

 

Even if this moment

is not so pleasant,

even if it fails to live up to your desires.

Even if it is boring,

or ever so mundane

and feels a bit too lame.

 

Even if it thrashes you,

whips you around and harasses you.

See if you can bear witness to it.

Not condone it or agree with it,

but accept it.

Because it is already here.

 

In this momentary space of acceptance,

away from fear or anger,

you might, for once, clearly see your reality.

With this clarity, you might land up discovering

the path to your own serene freedom.

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My Old Normal!

In the past few weeks…

 

Trees have grown,

gardens are in bloom.

Mother Nature is proud

of the bounty of her womb.

 

In the past few weeks…

 

How have I fared?

How have I grown?

What fresh ideas have sprouted in me?

What new beauty have I sown?

 

In the past few weeks…

 

Trees are taller and wider,

confident in their plume.

Buds have pushed through their skin,

gently spreading their perfume.

 

In the past few weeks…

 

What wider perspectives have I explored?

How am I looking at the world anew?

What boundaries have I overcome?

What’s richer in my worldview?

 

 

Nature would not revert 

to where it was a few  weeks ago.

Then why am I holding on to my past

not wanting to let my old normal go?

 

 

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Letting go…

Letting go of the life I was living

Letting go of the plans I was beginning to make

Letting go of the dreams I was dreaming up

Letting go of the hopes that were coming awake.

Sitting in this space of uncertainty

not knowing what to expect,

hanging on to a vague image of the future

with no idea of what is ahead.

I turn to what I do have right now

to ground me and settle me down.

I grasp for treasures accessible

and discover gems to fill up a crown.

 

I savour the beauty of English spring,

and soak in its lazy sunshine.

I tread the paths of my neighbourhood, and have

weekly dates with an old dame across the two-metre line.

 

I indulge in cooking with no distractions

and tango with aromas and taste.

I am surprised at my own ability to focus

as I spend hours creating without any haste.

 

I talk daily with my loved ones

I say hello to friends via Zoom,

I can tune into the rhythm of their lives

now that I am not going vroom-vroom.



I am getting used to this new pace of life

I am beginning to dream in its confines.

I am hoping for some continuity

and am making plans with dim outlines.

 

But then fear decides to drop in

with anxiety and worry as coattails,

I get jolted into the reality

with all the uncertainties and other travails.



It seems, I might again be …

 

Letting go of the life I was living

Letting go of the plans I was beginning to make

Letting go of the dreams I was dreaming up

Letting go of the hopes that were coming awake.

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Transitions

Here is comfortable, soothing and warm.

Vivid, colorful and safe from any storm.

There, on the other hand,

is confusing and blurred,

riddled with questions,

where murky thoughts are stirred.


Here, I think, I can control,

there, conjures up

visions of a black hole.

I like the familiarity of now and here,

don’t really want to go from here to there.

But there comes along

like an uninvited guest.

It makes me jump hoops

and go from test to test.

I try on the new world

with effort and care,

but I don’t like this place

of being neither here nor there.


It is unnerving

to not know where I stand,

I yearn for stability

in this shifting sand.

I get busy with turning

my chaos into order,

creating an art piece

with a picture and a neat border.


Some new pieces don’t fit in,

I put them on the side.

Memories still haunt,

I take that in my stride.

Fresh routines start to set in,

new people come around.

I start to find my feet

and can feel the ground.


Anxiety starts to fade

and joys seep in,

life restarts to take shape,

focus and colour creep in.

Fog starts to lift,

I begin to see

I am in the same enchanting forest

but had been clinging to one tree.

As I look back on my travels

from here to there,

a fascinating idea

is laid out bare.

This journey of life

is never from here to there,

it always has been

from one here to another here.

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Nature and I – Part 1

I say, I need
to hurry up, perform,
achieve and produce.

Nature says, I need
to slow down, exist
and just reproduce.

I say, I need
stimulation, excitement
and strife for perfection.

Nature says, I need
change, growth 
and an ease with imperfection.

I say, I need
to plan, to be certain
and to control my ride!

Nature says, “Ha!,
What a hoot!
My ride is not certified.”

So we dance together,
Nature and I.
Pretending to be equals
as she occasionally lets me fly high!

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