If we examine our modern and urban lives, we discover that we are surrounded by artificiality. Almost everything we use, consume or interact with is man made. Except for family, friends, and playtime almost all our interactions with others is transactional and hence dominated by a sense of artificiality.
The greater the pervasiveness of artificiality the less the possibility for us to realise happiness.
I spend considerable time in my small terrace garden and I realise that if look with awareness we can see nature and life pulsating and humming in all its glory and power.
I observe the tender shoots emerging and the flower buds beginning to blossom right before my eyes.
I see and hear the birds that chirp, the Sunbird's hover and the Myna's hop, the fluttering butterflies, the gecko shooting its long tongue out to ambush and gobble up an unsuspecting insect. The spider ceaselessly spinning its web. Those who have pets know the priceless emotion of their nuzzling upto us simply to love and be loved.
These experiences bring us closer to nature and touch pleasure chords deep within our being.
In those moments, of quiet solitude without phones and papers, where we just watch, listen to and breathe in absorbing life, we feel at peace and happy. These peaceful moments within our chaotic and tightly scheduled lives can and do have a powerful impact in rejuvenating us.
Just like sleep and physical rest refresh our body and mind, our meeting with nature rejuvenates our emotional being, our spirit.
The divine exists in every thing in nature, big and small. To acknowledge both our own and their existence, to respect their place and time in the greater scheme of life, is to be at peace and realise happiness.
We will discover that that this emotional rejuvenation will make achievement and success easier and its taste sweeter.
Not complexity but in simplicity lies success.
Not in the artificial but in nature we will find peace and happiness.
We do not have to offer bribes, go on pilgrimages or to perform penances to meet the Divine.
We can daily meet the Divine, wherever we may be.
