A New Journey to the Old Balcony
Life lessons from my plants and the Cuckoo
One evening as I sat in my apartment balcony sipping on my hot cup of chai(tea) and trying to recalibrate my life, the cuckoo flew in and perched on the leafless and lifeless tree right opposite my balcony. He was a regular performer and was more punctual than my mother who sometimes leaves me speculating if she had served in the army in her previous birth.
I already labelled this cuckoo as he and not she. The crux of the societal structure continues to dwell on patriarchy and I merely being a by-product of this flimsy scaffolding chose to address the cuckoo as he rather than she. It is internalized. Not that I am a feminist or an anti-feminist which is irrelevant to the topic of discussion, but intrinsically we tend to generalize as male. The male cuckoo began his singing or whining(maybe it was a she after all who was expressing her indignation), while I continue to rejoice in the medley and being indecisive about whether it was singing or whining.
Most of us are tuned to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the laments around us anyways. Or we turn a supporter or opine on social media by sharing pre-made posts and stories. Yes, I show my support for the cities, states and countries that are across the 7 seas by standing with them on social media. Do I stand with my friends and family when in need? Have I been emotionally and physically available for my near and dear ones wholeheartedly without grumbling? We do tend to grumble when we are swimming in a sea of work and barely keeping ourselves from drowning and now we need to cater to others’ midlife crisis too? *sigh*
I turn around to look at my tiny garden which is merrily basking in the sun, oblivious to the outside mayhem of COVID and what seems like an eternal lockdown. With the cuckoo crooning in the background and the tea propelling my fatigued brain muscles, I discern something.
Pink and deep velvet and pale white flowers. Leaves high on chlorophyll and some devoid of it. Dark greens, light greens, greenish-yellow tints, red and the purple leaves of the Wandering jew made me realize that the tiny balcony garden was picturesque because of its vibrant colours. You know like they say, “Splash of colours”. How incomplete would it be if not for its variegated leaves and pop of colours?
If humans could only celebrate all the colours of skin like they celebrated the clothes they chose from the plethora of shades and hues or how they adored the exuberance of the European towns that are bursting with colours.
Nature has been hailed as Mother Nature for being a teacher and nurturer. If only we learned to learn from its magnificence and workings instead of exploiting every last grain of it. Only if we took our eyes off the screens and free our ears from the headphones that hang like shackles could we be wary of ourselves and the things around us.
As my head was spiralling with thoughts, I noticed the heliotropic flower in the pot reposition itself with the setting sun. It does it so effortlessly and with a slight and gradual shift in angles. How striking is it that when the circumstances changed, the environment changed, the flower adapted itself to create a conducive environment that is needed for it to thrive?
The flower created the opportunity for itself. The opportunity never presented itself to the flower. It could have just let it be. It could have waited for another bright sunny day when the sun would reposition itself in favour of the flower. The existential crisis was never confined to just us “superior beings” or just a selective lot of human beings.
The easy way out for us to not do what we need to be doing or what we want to be doing is that with a simple, “the situation is not favourable” and just procrastinate. Have you ever seen those tender stemmed and two-leaved plants that grow from the cracks and crevices? They never had the situation favourable to germinate and grow either.
Here is an excerpt from the book You are a badass by Jen Sincero
“Most answers reveal themselves through doing, not thinking
Instead of wasting hours and days and years trying to figure out your perfect next move, just DO something already. Oh, the time we waste rolling ideas around in our heads, imagining what-ifs, coming up with perfect reasons why and then perfect reasons why not, tearing at our cuticles. Get out of your head and take action. You don’t have to know exactly where it’s going to take you, you just need to start with one thing that feels right and keep following right-feeling things and see where they lead.”
Meanwhile, my mom comes in to join me for tea to honour our evening ritual of sipping the adrak wali chai (ginger tea) and conversing about bizarre topics which included the COVID news without fail. Then looking over my shoulder and pointing at the empty pot where I had sown seeds of mint which had not shown any sign of germination, she chimes, “What is taking it so long? It’s been quite a few days now.” I respond, “Rome was not built in a day Amma(mom).”
These age-old proverbs are so deep-rooted that have still not their relevance in this otherwise fast-paced world where humans are evolving and the definition of normal is getting updated faster than the change in seasons. The frequency of “latest” is getting outdated with such momentum that we cannot even relish or gloat our new “latest”.
Rome was not built in a day but neither are we. It takes sheer dedication and perseverance to build ourselves to live the life that we envision. The tangible results come to the surface only after prolonged efforts.
Here is the story of Chinese Bamboo.
The Chinese bamboo takes 5 years to even show any signs of growth. Yes, you read that right. Until 5 years there is no visible growth in the soil, but it has to be watered and fertilized nonetheless. After 5 years of the gestation period, it grows up to 90 feet fall in merely 5 weeks. All we see is the 90 feet tall plant at the termination of the 5 year period. But if it wasn’t nurtured for that period, then the 90 feet plant would be non-existential.
Nurture yourself. Don’t give up midway.
On the other hand, there are others like the mint seeds that sprout in just a matter of few weeks. But the Chinese Bamboo is Chinese bamboo and the mint is mint at the end of the day.
“ Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.”
With all these thoughts running riot in the background, I forgot about my already cold tea. This trip down my own thoughts led to a disconnect from the tumultuous and mundane realm of reality. The reality in which I gulp down my cold tea.
