A short story on experiencing happiness through the adventures of everyday life In the cool, early hours of dawn, an elderly lady approaches me for a rest. The spaniel that she’s been walking climbs up as well and puts his head on my wooden seat. “New sounds, new smells and new squirrels again today! Oh, I so love these walks! And the best part is she knows I love them and so takes me out every single day”, he relishes. And as his beady, loving eyes rest upon her she thinks “He’s such a wonderful companion at this old age of mine - always by my side and always there for me”. I feel love and loyalty. As the afternoon nears, a young couple strolls towards me. As they settle down I sense something is amiss for they don’t seem to talk to each other. “He’s just not present anymore when he’s with me and always looks far and distant. How can I relate to him?” she laments. “No matter what I say or do, I simply can’t connect with her anymore. The romance is fizzling out and the passion is disappearing. Is this going to be the end of our journey?” he sadly wonders. I feel fear, helplessness and frustration. A golden hue covers the sky as evening begins to fall, and a mother with a baby stops by. She lovingly feeds it and holding it close to her bosom tells stories. Its baby blue eyes watch her entranced, following every movement of her lips. “I hope you grow up one day to be strong yet gentle, tough yet caring and kiss this beautiful world and touch all its people with goodness”, she wishes deep inside. As if on cue, the baby smiles and puts his little finger on her cheek. I feel tenderness, hope and faith. Dusk approaches, and the abbot of a nearby monastery walks towards me silently and calmly sits down to meditate. I only feel peace of mind and compassion. The next moment I’m puzzled. I wonder how this sudden peace and compassion came over me and for a few minutes I feel like a muddy pool of twirling water. And then, as if the mud settles down slowly in the pool of my mind, I realise something that changes my way of being forever. I realise how in the course of just one day I experience all kinds of people, a myriad of emotions and a bunch of feelings - some interesting, some inspiring, some saddening and yet some heart-warming. But just like what the monk cultivated and experienced today, if I allow all of them to be just as they are - make none of them right or wrong, none of them perfect or imperfect, and soak them all up, then there’s this wholesome peace that settles. A peace unaffected by any trouble and which nobody can ever ruffle. And a compassion from which I have the power to create goodness all around. I practice this and am a happier park bench each day from that day on. |
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Blog Post for this week by Ashwin - Adventures in Happiness!posted 28 Aug 2011 03:38 by Ashwin Subramaniam [ updated 28 Aug 2011 03:44 ] |