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Blog
Mountain
March 19th, 2008
Sitting in Pokhara a couple of years ago, I admired the beauty of the mountain ranges, of the snow-capped peaks. So massive, spread all over and yet so self-contained. Sturdy and solid. A backdrop of solidity offering safety and protection by just being. Just living its life in harmony with all other beings who approached it.
How does it feel, I wondered. It cannot move out of its location. Does it feel immobilized? But it wouldn’t, because it has never experienced mobility. That set me thinking... that even if the mountain had never moved, it knew movement from a completely different perspective – from the perspective of the terrain that is moved upon.
I wondered how it felt to have humans, animals, birds, insects, reptiles and even machines walking and crawling all over it. Would it enjoy the movement, like a nice massage or was it a constant source of irritation? Even trees dug in with their roots. Air was always moving along its body. Water too, in different forms – streams, waterfalls, rain, snow, ice. Its vegetation – the trees, plants, shrubs, creepers, each moved differently.
As a mountain it knew movement from a much wider perspective than I ever could. Texture, pressure, velocity, temperature, speed, symmetry, balance, distribution all comprised its experience of movement.
Did I think the mountain could not move? When the mountain moves, it really does! It creates a landslide throwing its inhabitants about.
I used to think of a mountain as solid but unenviably grounded. However, I realized it doesn’t need to go anywhere for everything comes to it. It is well grounded and stable in its presence on earth even while it connects through its heights, to the skies.
Sitting in its majestic solidity, it can see far beyond what we can see with all our daily movement. The mountain is there long before we come and remains long after we are gone, seeing, sensing and absorbing the essence of all our experiences. It has no need to run from place to place. From its stable position, it is everywhere, all the time connected through the Earth.
No wonder, I thought, no wonder I feel so stable, so drawn. No wonder I feel this connection, this oneness when I look at the mountain.
If wrinkles could speak...
November 26th, 2006
At the annual party at wrinkledom, wrinkles of all sizes, shapes and colour meet. They wine, dine, play games and win prizes. One prize reserved for the wrinkle that made its owner proud, was left without a taker.
This caused alarm and led to a discussion. Said frown-line, "My bent and visible presence between the brows irritates my host. But she created me by knotting up her forehead for years. I popped up to show her what she was doing but she carried on the same way. I've walked along with her, a faithful companion, sharing her burden.
"So have I. I am just above you, a prominent package of sleeping lines that really bother her. I personally think I look handsome. I make a nice, interesting pattern on her forehead. I don't understand why instead of proudly displaying me, she rubs creams and tries to will me away" said worry lines.
"Oh, I too think you are handsome enough for her to be proud of you, and of me too. Those hoardings and commercials give her the wrong ideas," said lipstick lines and continued to say, "Can you believe she actually finds me annoying? Look at how delicately I am placed just above and below her lips. How could she not be fascinated by my petite structure?"
You are all talking about your looks but maybe you all remind her of anxiety and stress", said laugh lines and continued, "whereas, I am the result and reminder of fun and laughter. She created me with so much happiness. I remember the time she laughed so hard, I hurt but I enjoyed it too. I represent fun times and am an anchor for those memories. I am the many stories of joy and laughter etched on her face. Seeing me is seeing how much joy there has been in her life. I may look big and plain but I would expect her to caress me with pride and love, and be happy to see me where I belong".
Crow's feet came up saying, "Well, she's probably not viewing us from an emotional angle. The beauty tips and ads convince her that wrinkles are ugly. The industry endorses the 'baby face' to flood the market with lotions. And she's caught up in it. If she paused for a moment, she would realise how boring she would look without us. A baby face all through life with no change. Its a pity she hasn't taken time to notice how our beauty adds to her beauty, how many memories we evoke, how much character we add to her face.
"You're very right," said lipstick lines. "And if I were her, I would be proud of us all but especially proud of you, crow's feet. You are beauty and brains all in one. Your intricate design positioned so strategically is like a lace veil around the eye. And you have worked alongside her with such precision while she developed all her knowledge and wisdom. Don't the rest of you agree?"
"Definitely so" - "I am for it, lets crown crow’s feet"- "I second what you say" came all the replies.
"Hey, thanks a ton. But each of us here is so special and unique, with our appearance and what we represent," said crow's feet and added, "It would be a difficult task to choose a winner from amongst us. We are all winners, a team of winners, adding life, beauty and character to our host. Each line that we are is a story. Lets recognise and be proud of ourselves. Perhaps someday she will move beyond the limitations of the beauty industry and will perceive us with love and appreciation.
Till then, three cheers for ourselves! Wrinkles, Zindabad!
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