MORNING MANTRA

ABC Wednesday

M is for Morning

I feel deep reverence for the mystic allure of each morning. When my eyes open to the sweet morning light, stealing benignly through the bedroom window, the whole body responds eagerly to the sensation of freshness and tranquility. Even when up and doing, the silence of the morning connects me to my spiritual self, making me feel light and hopeful.

The first cup of tea pours energy into the system and there you go chasing the morning chores.

In fact, morning sets the mood of the day. For me, the most important activity is the morning walk in the nearby park. It is the greatest mantra for maintaining well-being, which I have adopted since my retirement. There are no more urgent household tasks to be carried out before leaving for work.

Undoubtedly, morning walk or some exercise regime is necessary for a healthy living for all of us. There are no two opinions about the belief that the threesome of prayer, meditation and exercise performed in the morning, work wonders for overall wellness, creativity and productivity.

I experience morning walk as a channel for the restoration of mind body connect, which we have almost lost in the fast pace of modern life. Walk in a park surrounded by trees and floras that emit oxygen in the morning, fill the lungs, improving blood circulation. Brisk walk provides muscular strength to the skeletal and lubricates joints and cells, promoting fitness. It is also your ‘me time’ when day’s distractions haven't  yet invaded your mental space.You converse with your inner self. The greenery around soothes the eyes, envelops you with grace and resilience to face the day.

It’s pure joy to watch the frolicking squirrels and buzzing honey bees and other insects flitting around blooming flowers and creating their own music. It is however, the birds, which steal the morning show. They flutter overhead, chirp, tweet or squeak on the branches conducting an orchestra of improvised notes. It is like nature’s lyrical poetry. Nevertheless, the experience is as holy as participating in a sat sang to rejuvenate the soul.

Morning is time for thanksgiving to God for His countless blessings. Also the consciousness of proper planning for a purposeful day happens in the morning.

A light and healthy breakfast is a great beginning to the day. It accelerates your brain functions, and alerts your responses.

Morning exudes vibes of inexplicable sensuous charm and spontaneous positivity. Childlike innocence of an unpolluted mind is the persona of the morning hour.  Sweeping away inertia, it adds swing to your movements and sees you through the good/bad of each day.

Friends, pl. share your thoughts on the subject.

Image courtesy: Google

MORNING WALK WITH LARKS

My morning walk constitutes a panorama of unique delights and also some reflective moments. I feel blessed to be able to enjoy the wonderful environs of a park which is close to my house and is largely instrumental in goading me, to dwell on certain uncomfortable realities of human existence.  Here every day, brings new landscape of surprises, possibilities and rich food for thought.

Once there, far removed from the mundane every day hassles and breathing balmy and refreshing breeze make my spirits soar. The company of ‘innocence’ personified in the persona of joyful larks under a pure azure sky, illumined by precious, warm and golden December sunshine lends a brilliant charm to the surroundings. It is quintessentially a world which is known only to a fortunate few amongst us.

That the larks will acquire the potency of a metaphor with an original linkage baffle me. My heart melts with pure appreciation for the happy go lucky larks that gift me boundless joy with their childlike gaiety and self absorption, as they concentrate on their task of finding insects, seeds etc.They symbolize unadulterated mirth.Their body language oozes easiness and unusual confidence, though they look somewhat unglamorous. They have nothing to hide. No money in Swiss banks, no tax evasion and no hypocrisy.

Sometimes I feel a twinge of disdain, in their-don’t care a damn- attitude as they don’t even register my presence.   However, I often sense some trepidation in their flight as if my being there resurrected some long suppressed anger out in the open. Suddenly converging under a silver oak tree, they twitter agitatedly which rises to a crescendo. Perhaps that is how they articulate their grievances, “You’ve usurped all the vacant land for your skyscrapers and big, small houses.You axe  trees mercilessly and pollute everything with your callous ways. And now how  dare you to trespass this small space too! Why don’t you leave us alone? God’s bountiful earth gives us sufficient food and a small puddle here and there to quench our thirst. Don’t interrupt our few moments of relaxation.”

“Do you ever realize how you harm us by throwing trash everywhere which remains unlifted and decays? We unknowingly peck at  it, fall sick and die. Our young ones’ get infected too. Have you ever done surveys why our population is decreasing because there is no space for us to raise our families? You are predators around us. Have you ever paused to notice that the sprightly house sparrows around whom such sweet children’s stories were woven are almost extinct?"

" Then imagine the ear splitting noise pollution of your possessions. You celebrate your Diwali while we fly from one place to the other in terror, as if our bodies will burst with the deafening sounds."

courtesy: visualquotient.net

" There was a time, we used to have refreshing ablutions on the banks of water bodies and now when we step there, our tiny feet get entangled in the refuse and our nostrils are invaded with foul smell, forcing us to beat a hasty retreat. We’ve even been robbed of this modest pleasure."

Continuing their harangue while looking at me accusingly they blurted out, “Look over there, those mangy mongrels keep chasing us, when we descend on the side walk, to fluff our feathers to soak in the warmness of the sun. They scare us away. What have you done to check their numbers, when you know that they spread disease and feed on filth and defecate and urinate on the grass where your children play games, sit and chat? You remain engrossed in hoarding money by whatever means to push your good for nothing sons and buy them positions with your filthy lucre and arrange grand wedding extravaganzas for your silly daughters." 

This barrage of invectives and snubs at the hands of ever charming larks, set me thinking about the stark truth of their assertions. I realized how genuine their protestations are and how insensitive our approaches! It is not the larks alone but it is the cry of all birds, to listen to which our ears are not attuned.

Other two:  courtesy Google