AGING IS ALSO A PHENOMENON

    

I’m aging and trying to evolve into a person who enjoys living within the boundaries of home life. I consider it the right time too to embrace the simple delights of everyday life. Though my monkey mind and my fairly active body balk at the idea of surrender and face the existential reality of pains, aches, and much more; yet choosing a comfort zone is not an option for me but a necessity at this phase of my life. Despite my vibrant disposition of inquiry, and unquenched curiosity, the limitations of aging stare in the face starkly.

My life now has a different calendar. Since outings are minimal these days, my balcony (I spend summers amidst hills) figuratively has turned into a window for interaction with the natural world. It overlooks a narrow valley surrounded by hills covered with thickly growing stately pines and lush greenery. A silent unobtrusive conversation I hold with trees, bushes, and sprawling random vegetation. Sometimes the goings-on in the avian world also becomes a centre of attraction, because of the unique orchestra they play before flying off to their stipulated destination of the day.  Regular spells of monsoon showers have caused the flora to glisten when sunrays win the hide and seek game with masses of water-soaked clouds.

 

My morning starts if it is not raining- with a leisurely walk on my balcony. While sipping my first cup of tea of the day, I instinctively feel connected with the soothing vibes emanating from nature’s marvels around. The feisty scene of majestic pines, their boughs laden with fresh needles swinging happily in the cool moist air makes me feel happy to be alive. The rest of the rain-washed foliage proudly acts as an appendage to fill gaps in between trees and provide a safe canopy for the insect colonies to flourish. This limitless visual spectacle malleable to the constantly changing aspects of climate, on a deeper level, slams us for our rigidities and proclivity to cling to our limiting identities. The charming scenario makes me conscious of the unfolding of the new day, and my resolve to make it more productive than yesterday.

 To preserve my sanity and ward off feelings of isolation, I keep inventing things to do. Believe me, all my left-over wools and forgotten multi-colored threads have been made use of by my newfound joyful activity of crocheting. My browsing YouTube videos helped me immensely in learning its basics.

Reading can be a pleasurable activity for us seniors both for time well spent and acquiring insights into human aspirations. My Kindle is well stocked with eBooks which I order online. One can get compilations of all-time Classics in one jacket – a gem to lovers of reading.

 

I’m on Pinterest as well. Please google to find all information about it. I find it a minefield of wonderful new ideas, quotes, and DIY projects. If one has the gift of a keen creative streak one can learn unimaginable things even at an advanced age. Basic computer savviness is the only requirement separating you from the treasure trove of the universe.

Cooking is therapeutic. Kitchen kingdom is the prerogative, which most of the ladies would loath to pass over wholly to any maid whatsoever. This privilege one should maintain till one's limbs cooperate.

Choicest activity interspersed with restful lie-downs and some exercise makes life satisfying, joyful, and healthy even in grey years

I’m reminded of John Milton’s dilemma, which he versifies in his well-known sonnet titled “On His Blindness”. Having lost his eyesight early in life he was unable to write. However, the thought that God will question him about his wasting the gift of writing gnawed him constantly.  But deep down, his mind itself conveys the answer in the concluding line of the sonnet that is, “they also serve who only stand and wait.”

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EXPERIENCES IN THE US-1

The water treatment lagoon. The walking trail is on the left of the pic.(not visible here)The light blue sky and the horizon.

I’m putting up in Chester Springs near Philadelphia (PA) in the US these days. It is a picturesque city surrounded by a thick forest cover, home to towering trees, rabbits, deer and exceptional species of vegetation. It is a totally peaceful area, except on weekends when the loud buzz of lawn mowers irritate the ear drums  The posh area of single family houses, where our daughter lives is inhabited mostly by professionals. A good number of Indian techies also live here.

Initial hiccups of jet lag and adjustment to the new environment being nearly over, I'm trying to go forward with my usual old routine. Going for a morning walk has been an important component of it.  For a long time the morning walk has acquired deep physical and spiritual connotations for me.
Wherever I'm, I make it a point of  scheduling it in my daily time table. Physically it keeps me in good shape and blesses me with so many loyal friends in the world of nature. I feel as though,the natural flora has deep affinity with me and converse with me in silence or through their rustling sounds.

Spiritually, I feel empowered and more confident after my daily rendezvous with the objects of nature in the course of my walk. It also helps me to relate to the outside world and its multiple frames.The morning scene gets etched so powerfully in the mind’s eye, ready to be invoked whenever necessary. If despair or cynicism  invades the mental space, one becomes resilient enough to come out of it soon. Most of all,  ideas for my articles are born, structured and mapped in my brain here.

the landscaped backyard of the corner house on the other side 0f the road.

Coming back to the present, I watch the outside world through my bedroom window first thing in the morning. If it is a clear day the early sun rays steal through the open blinds. My mood instantly perks up. Next a look at the sky: a massive ocean like entity, majestic and mysterious, attired in greyish white cloak of infinite proportions, exhibiting one of the unexplainable riddles of the universals in our existence. A lone eagle gliding on the roof tops and a couple of small birds dashing in and out of my range of vision break the spell of the magical scene.

I come down. While sipping my morning cup of ginger tea, I step outside through the front door. There is transparency and crispness in the atmosphere.  At the same time I sense a sort of stillness, the eeriness of the absolute quietude only violated now and then by the passage of a vehicle. The silence mystifies. The sheer immensity of the environment overwhelms. I stroll on the side walk and spin around while being hypnotized by the openness of the skyline presenting the perceptible illusion of the earth meeting the sky.  The sight becomes awe inspiring since you feel caught in the middle of an unearthly loop. The wondrous scene is there every day, but it touches your sensibilities once in a while. Nature surely has blessed this great land.

Cloudy sky or clear sky, we go for our morning walk in the company of our darling seven year old granddaughter who, remains at home these days, because of summer vacations. It feels wonderful to be out in the cool breeze and breathe in the freshness to recharge and inspire oneself to do  the daily chores and some reading or writing later in the day. 
The morning walk for us grandparents has its own specific culture here. We get ready for it in a leisurely way. We first prepare our breakfast according to the likings of our granddaughter. Like they say in India we subscribe to the maxim, ‘Grandparents are there to give concessions not to set rules’. Yesterday she preferred to have pancakes with chocolate syrup and today French toast with honey spread over them for extra sweetness.  Children everywhere in the world have a sweet tooth.  She puts the first morsel in her mouth and exclaims, “Grandma I love it.” True to the American style of appreciation.

We coax her to accompany us for the walk. She agrees very reluctantly but  insists on taking her bubbles contraption with her and keeps blowing and popping the bubbles, otherwise she is bored in no time and wants to come back after a short walk.

Walking on the side walk by perfectly manicured, landscaped lawns and shapely ornamental trees is a treat. There’re bushes and shrubs and flower beds, sans weeds, neatly spread with coal black mulch. Surveying the scene, I pay silent tribute to the efforts of the house owners who, by the way, I’ve not seen so far.

 I keep guessing, however. ……May be both husband and wife work and the children are enrolled in some camp. Or one  parent works from home and the kids are inside. Any which way the stillness is compelling. The Americans are busy bees. They’ve no time to look around for nothing. That explains the dedicated work spirit they possess.  

Musing thus we head for the safety of the beautiful walking trail with sprawling grassy land and water treatment lagoon, efficiently secured, on one side and a busy road, blocked by fluffy pines, on the other. Mostly we are a lone threesome there. To keep our little one engaged who really leads us by running ahead; I show her the flowering fennel plants growing on the edges and have promised to show her the seeds when these ripen. The other day we saw the canopy of a really large mushroom finding its way out through the grass.

the cute mini well in the corner house

While coming, back two beautifully maintained houses at the end of the trail attract our attention. In one there is cute looking replica of a mini well placed on the side and our granddaughter examines it curiously and asks questions. The other house has artistically landscaped backyard and side areas with exotic plants and flowering bushes. But do the architects of the beauty ever get time to feast their eyes on their handiwork, I wonder?

beautifully laid flower bed in the front lawn over looking the houses in the neighborhood

I'm fascinated by the things around here and would be observing things keenly to write about them to share with you. 

Friends: Waiting for your response in words.

 images taken with g.daughter's i pad.