Stress stresses everyone. There is no one that is aloof of it. This menace bogs each of us once down. I often find myself in its clutch, looking for some sources and support to get released from its grip. What works wonders for me is the art of submitting myself to nature. It is that one thing or friend(if you personify it like me!) that never disappoints you or turns away from you. I find it constantly with me. It is like a companion, one that is larger (both in size and aura) so I revere it, mysterious so I feel both admiration and curiosity towards it, much wiser that reaches me through its time immemorial-knowledge and a powerful healer with unbiased care. It has no dimensions, not any strains of discrimination but has larger-than-life caring arms to embrace the one who needs its help.

As Lord Byron puts it,

I love not man the less, but Nature more.

A similar feeling jingles my soul.

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HOW I FIND A FRIEND IN IT DURING EPISODES OF STRESS:

BEAUTY LIES IN BEHOLDING

Whenever this fast life reels me under it and creates bouts of anxiety and overthinking, nature teaches me to slow down. There is an overflowing fountain of calmness that emanates from the wilderness if you have a discerning eye for it.

As imbued in humans, we are so impatient with most of the things in life. As I am writing about nature, I will describe it in that way. You sow a seed with immense hope and care that one day it will bloom into a lush tree that will provide a comforting shade during those long stretches of summer. All the watering and wait keeps you optimistic. Then comes our demons. Every so often, you grow impatient about the time-taking process that there is a failure in the realization that Nature has its own ways and timings.

There is a major lesson in the process if you can grasp it. That reward lies not only in the fruit but in the faith too. That the one who develops the patience designs his precious present. I know you have to reach somewhere but Your journey also needs appreciation.

THAT PAT ON THE BACK

It’s an everyday struggle, isn’t it? All the things that “matter”- rise, walk towards the dream, trip, fall, and then again rise. It is more like a thriller movie going on. The difference is that we are the real-life actors in this real-life motion picture. Sometimes life is so ruthless, some episodes so draining that it becomes unappealing to rise and take that walk again. Where do you look then for the meaning and methods to come out of such stagnancy?

I prefer to take the most menial ways! I find a gentle hand on my shoulder. My searching eyes make me observe the trees near my home. Most of them are the ones that share my childhood with me and are still with me. They whisper about the storms that are going to be there in every step of my life. But they are kind enough to teach me the patience that I must have to endure such storms. And I feel intensely energetic when I see them blooming back in springs after their autumn-ly storm. Beautiful, gentle giants!

Their unconditional reminders are priceless that this life is going to be a bumpy ride. But what matters is not how many jolts are there in the journey but how strongly you bounce back and continue the ride.

MONOCHROMATIC IS SO BORING

Now and then, we are so fascinated by the concept of the afterlife. The fantastic-fantasy question often pops up in our minds while we are busy living our daily lives. One thing that is certain is that we are not sure whether we are going to walk this precious planet once again or not. Whether, after the exhaustion of all the possibilities of humanity ever inhabiting the earth, we will ever get the joy of fulfilling our dreams, exploring and exhibiting our inner selves, living, loving, and loosening in the web of life.

Take some time out of your busy schedule and find a flower! This is not something tough to do, right? Try to engross yourself in its petals and the radiant colors that shine on its soft surface. What do you find?

Flowers, of various shapes and shades, bring me joy and remind me to be colorful and to create a masterpiece out of my life. It shows how gracefully you can hold many aspects of life and can try to give yourself and others a better world through your light and energy. Be a colorful palette holding the different shades of hues, like the ones scattered in our surroundings (like that breathtaking rainbow). Be anything you want and shed what you don't desire. Yes, you can be a dentist and a dancer in a pod, my friend! Just flap your wings and fly anyway, as that butterfly flew just past you right now!

FLOW IN THE FLOW

I was in the middle of some work when I felt pangs of annoyance. I halted the work and sat quietly with my thoughts for some time, to figure out what is actually bothering me. This led to entering my mental realm. I noticed residues of the past piling up there, and my mind was looking for something valuable in those remnants. Also, there were fears of the future haunting me with all those ‘what-ifs’.

I knew I was missing something precious in all this mess. My heart knew what my mind wasn’t understanding.

In all this, a bird perching on the nearby mango tree caught my attention, sitting, just doing NOTHING. It looked like someone had smeared a brush of shiny blue tone on its feathers. What felt dejecting to me was that while I was letting that moment slack from my hand, that little guy was all present in the present, enjoying every bit of it. As if it was murmuring to me that all is exactly the way it was supposed to be O Dear! Shut down that speedy vehicle of thought and come flow with me in this ever-flowing river!