Oh My Life is Free of Care, I 've All the Time to Stand and Stare!

[JUSTIFY]That time of the year is here - summer. I am normally given to a dread of summers and the accompanying heat. The phobia is so bad, I start dreading its arrival as soon as winter starts! (Reminds me of the story of a certain 'Buddhuram' who was going up a hill and smiling all the time and on his way down he was shedding copious tears. When asked why, he replied that while climbing up, he was thinking about how easy it would be to climb down and on his way down, he shed tears thinking about the difficulty of climbing up)!

Summer is already making its presence felt here. It's not yet too bad, but yes, winter has certainly bid us goodbye for the year.

I'm lying on my bed as usual, lappie perched in it's rightful place playing games, checking out the forums for anything interesting to read and so on. Come this time of year and I hate letting in the sunlight - it's quite a glare - into the room after around 11 a.m. So the curtains are firmly drawn and I hear the sound of the barbets outside. They sound just like croaking frogs. Nothing very exciting about their calls. I remember the time around 4 years ago when I discovered these birds. I was intrigued about frogs croaking like crazy at this time of the year. When I finally noticed the new bird on the block, was I excited!!! Then it was that I connected the sound with the bird. Today as I lie on my bed, I hear the barbets going crazy outside. Suddenly the thought occurs to me - what less is this experience than being at any resort? I have the house to myself. Various birds are chirping outside, making me want to run after them with my camera, but ...... (Wanted to share some pics here, but the option to load pics is not working for some reason).

I often complain about being surrounded by old people (including a sib who is 10 years older and a BH who is 1 year older - the kind of people who were born with wrinkles on their foreheads. They probably were preparing for lives filled with enormous responsibilities - one of which was having to endure the likes of Satchi and keep her on the straight and narrow. Can't blame them!) but I do have to admit, I sometimes get into grouchy old woman mode myself and crib about the horrible world around me - the Kaliyug, the filth, the injustice, the crime and violence all around etc. It is sometimes hard for me to see why people say life is beautiful, although I do catch glimpses of it thanks to the birds and the bees, the flowers and the trees.

Of late, when I have been forced to get out of the warm comfort of my bed at as unearthly hour as 6 a.m. and be on my way to work by 6.30 a.m. I find myself totally unwilling to endure any human natter. So I switch on the FM channel in the car and listen to soothing bhajans of the "Art of Living" group. The soothed nerves, the sun which is still wondering whether it is time to start its daily routine the occasional clouds in the sky which have a bluish or orangish tinge (depending on whether the sun has made up its mind or not) suddenly made me realize one fine day that life is not so bad at all - DESPITE the garbage on the road, the traffic, the speeding taxis et al. Let me add, no one could have been more surprised at the sudden realization that had just occurred.

I wonder if this is what growing older is all about. (NO, I DID NOT SAY AGING, SO DON'T YOU GO GETTING IDEAS!) Yes, we do slow down, but then we have the time to stand and stare. I have always loved the poem "Leisure" by W.H. Davies ever since I learned it in school. The earlier part of my life was spent ruing this life full of care where we have no time to stand and stare". Today I think about the poem, thanking Karma for giving me the time to do just that!

Which also makes me wonder about Karma. Poor lady (or is it a guy?) has always been given a bad rap for being a nasty bit of works. (Maybe it's a gal after all - considering they are always held responsible for all the evils in this world)! Look at how she has worked for me. When I was fit enough to be rushing around like an overgrown hyperactive kid, I did not have the time or opportunity to notice anything around me. I was like a blinkered horse following the straight road ahead of me. The moment Ms. Karma grounded me, I suddenly opened my eyes and started looking around and noticing all the good things in life. So do give the poor woman a break! She is not as bad as she is made out to be. If she takes away something, she compensates with something better. Or may be this is the effect of a mixed karma - maybe I did something to deserve the rap I got on my knuckles or rather on my back from her, but then "somewhere in my wicked youth or childhood, I must have done something good. Nothing comes from nothing, nothing ever could. So somewhere in my miserable youth or childhood, I must have done something good."

P.S. Shall share some images as soon as I am able to upload pictures here. Sadly enough am unable to add any of my favourite smileys either.[/JUSTIFY]

 

Thanks Vaidehi. I am a most interested observer of all the antics of Ms. Karma! :-D

 

Hi Meril, yes, I don't remember what that time of day looked like. It's been a very long time since I ever woke up that early. Trouble is when I have to, I switch on the alarm and then start wake up 5-6 times starting around 2.30 a.m to just check out that it is doing its job!

 

Dear CS (@Cheeniya), such a treat to see you here! Since I have not been able to upload any images, here is a video link on youtube where you can hear a barbet's call. The kind of call I am talking of is heard at about 0.42 secs into the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j6z1Ut-i-c

 

​

Here are the promised pics. :-D