Outside my window – #Friday Reflections

My day starts at 5am every weekday morning. Preparing breakfast and lunch for Arjyo, before he leaves for school, occupies me until 7:15, after which I take a ten-minute break for some quick meditation. The ten minutes rejuvenate me as nothing does – an absolute necessity for me to get on with the day.

Before setting off for my morning walk, I make a quick mental note of the priorities for the day. I must confess that a big incentive for my walk happens to be the park – the imposing rain trees with long branches extending out magnificently, that spell sheer beauty and grandeur! The walking path that skirts it around is laid with bricks, for the convenience of the walkers who come every morning, as soon as the park gates are thrown open in the wee hours.

It is 11 now. The morning chores are done and my home-help has just left for the day. As I sit down at my little corner by the window, the beautiful day draws me close to it. This is my hour when I usually sit down to do my work assignments. Occasionally, time permitting, I even manage to write a post or two. Today is a quiet kind of day when I have the leisure to spare a few moments to myself and share my thoughts with you. This window is the doorway to my little world of thoughts and introspections. It is here that I come in happiness and in sorrow or even despair. It is my favourite refuge when I wish to unburden my feelings or write in my journal. It is a witness to the real me that few know about, except my family and very close friends. This is my window, by the writing table, where all my posts get to breathe a life all of their own. Welcome to my quiet sanctuary as I take you along to show you the views, the sights and sounds of the place. Let us go then, shall we?

I shall start by telling you what a lovely day it is, in this Southern end of town, where I live. I see thin wispy strands of clouds gliding by. With no signs of rains today, the azure skies seem to promise fair weather at least for the first half of the day. The lush green foliage of the emerald canopy of trees are the first things to catch my eye. Within minutes, I catch sight of a flock of bright green parrots in flight that descends upon the Gulmohar trees on the edge of our apartment block. How I wish I had my camera to capture that flight! The rush of mynahs and their constant chatter suddenly makes the parrots fly off as if they’ve been disturbed – this time to another part of the park, away from sight. I watch amazed at the grace with which these birds fly. There was a time when as a child, I wanted to be a bird and fly…perhaps some part of me still longs for that even now!

Farther away, on the adjacent road, along tree-lined houses, a car veers and gently stops. A lady carrying a wailing baby comes out from one of the houses, waves at the lady at the gate, and gets into the car before it speeds away. The large housing block at the other end of the park looks clean and washed after last night’s torrential downpour. The rundown little sheds by the end of the road also look like they’ve been scrubbed clean. The leaves are shining and the parched soil seems to be well-fed with enough water over the last few days.

Across the road at the farther end of the park, I can see three yellow school buses lined up and a group of brightly dressed preschoolers, ready to board. Perhaps they are being taken for a little trip to the supermarket or the fire station nearby. The kids look excited except one who looks a little unsure or perhaps a little upset. The ayah is holding her hand and telling her something. She is unfazed, though. Oh, I wish I knew what’s worrying the little one. I know how it feels. I too had a preschooler at home not many moons ago!

The horizon ahead looks so different at this hour of the day. This morning, before sunrise, all you could see was the silhouette of the buildings in the distance and a bright glowing rim at the edge of the eastern sky, which slowly turned a brilliant crimson, like a blushing bride. That time of the day is such a mystical hour, as the sky changes colours in rapid succession. I watch the same sky, every day with renewed wonder. God must be a very brilliant artist to work such bold splashes of colours on such a large palette every single day and still come up with something new each time!

Within minutes of sunrise, though, all that magic is gone. The sight of the tens and hundreds of building blocks crowding the landscape makes one quite blase. But, I’m not complaining because that half an hour of magic before and during sunrise really fills me up with gratitude every day. I’m grateful for I have the views of dusk and dawn that many may bot be fortunate to have and that for me is enough for me to get by. A slice of nature always creates that kind of magic for me and I hope it always remains that way for the rest of my life.

As the phone alarm sets off, I’m reminded that it is almost mid-day and I need to send in an assignment that I’ve been working on, since last week. Looking out below the window, I see the gardener busy tending to the plants. He has finished clearing the weeds and the mower kept aside tells me what he will be doing next. I often marvel at the way he silently works at it, so tirelessly, every single day, while we moan and complain so often. I admire the way he works through rain and shine to keep the lawn looking beautiful, the hedges trimmed and the grass free of weeds. Do we ever tell him what a fine job he does to keep our lawns and our gardens looking beautiful? Maybe, some day, I should tell him that.

Isn’t it amazing how Nature works to give us so much pleasure and yet, how seldom do we pause and feel thankful that we are blessed with so much. How often, do we think of giving something back to nature? Wonder why we never realise this truth –

Nothing in nature lives for itself. Rivers don’t drink their own water. Trees don’t eat their own fruit. The Sun doesn’t give heat for itself. Flowers don’t spread fragrance for themselves. Living for others is the rule of nature.

Now that I’ve shared my thoughts, I would like to know what you are thinking of, as we welcome yet another Monday morning. How does Nature appeal to you? What is it about Nature that you like best?

(This post was written in response to the prompt – “What can you see outside your window? Describe the weather, the sights, the sounds in the best possible way”as part of #Friday Reflections on Write Tribe)