It was a wintry Saturday afternoon at my parental home in Ambala. I had flown down from Mumbai to spend a couple of days with family. Sitting in the middle of the lawn adjoining the porch, I felt like a princess for reasons more than one.
The melon yellow and peach pink roses formed a blooming live garland around me. A butterfly and a honey bee buzzed off and on.
Occasionally, I bent over and immersed my senses in the sweetest milk’n’honey like fragrances, as the velvety rose petals tickled the tip of my nose. When I looked up, I saw how the soft, golden sunrays played hide-and-seek with the silver grey clouds insistent to relieve themselves of the burden of unshed showers. I watched the dance of the lemon and guava trees swaying back and forth in sync with the rhythmic pattern of the cool breeze. Everything around me was in perfect harmony.
The positive vibes around me made me feet elevated. With no thoughts, ideas, recollections or reflections in my mind, I simply felt joyful. I suppose this is all it takes to be happy. Nature is generous, beautiful and tender, and when we allow its attributes to seep into us, we can experience a feeling akin to purity. The similarity between nature and nurture may not be accidental. I believe that the people who nurture us are the closest physical embodiments of nature. Our parents, who brought us up, are an epitome of that grand banyan tree that withstands the strongest turbulences unfazed, while providing us with life-sustaining cover, strength and balance.
However, just like one needs to soak into nature and bask in its bountiful goodness, we need to be close to our parents, to fathom their selflessness and warmth that goes into making us what we are today. Unless we do that, we would be in touch with only the visible, shimmering tip of the iceberg, floating in the vast ocean, while its sheer courage under the surface, holding tightly on to huge volumes of frozen water beneath, would remain unseen. Don’t allow the chunks of ice to break away from the iceberg because of encounters with serpentine reefs or chiselled rocks jutting from the ocean bed. Embrace nature and those who nurture. Both have endowed us with the most important gift that sustains the cradle of life — unconditional love.
{{/usCountry}}However, just like one needs to soak into nature and bask in its bountiful goodness, we need to be close to our parents, to fathom their selflessness and warmth that goes into making us what we are today. Unless we do that, we would be in touch with only the visible, shimmering tip of the iceberg, floating in the vast ocean, while its sheer courage under the surface, holding tightly on to huge volumes of frozen water beneath, would remain unseen. Don’t allow the chunks of ice to break away from the iceberg because of encounters with serpentine reefs or chiselled rocks jutting from the ocean bed. Embrace nature and those who nurture. Both have endowed us with the most important gift that sustains the cradle of life — unconditional love.
{{/usCountry}}The writer is a Mumbai-based tax consultant