The multifarious duties of the day are done. As the sun dips beyond the mountains, my weary feet take me slowly to the terrace, where stone benches await one, offering a welcome rest.
In the background of the reddish grey twilight sky, the bare branches of a couple of large deciduous trees stand out in stark contrast. Once clothed in dense green foliage of thick, rounded leaves, the heat of summer has seen them shed their pride. The ground is blanketed all around, rendering it cool and retaining what moisture it can for the benefit of the countless little creatures residing therein.
A little scratching sound catches my attention and my eyes are drawn towards a family of wild Red Spurfowl foraging for worms and insects underneath the leaves. As I settle down comfortably on the bench, the eldest and largest amongst the tall, gaunt trees seems to whisper.
" Greetings, dear friend! Often, I see you here at dusk, sharing with me the stillness of nature. Here I grew forth from a tiny seed, and here did I spend many returns of seasons. In time I grew, not just in height and girth, but also in understanding.
Drought and deluge, heat and cold, I have endured over the years. Storms and lightning, monkeys stripping off my leaves and lumberjacks lopping off my arms, the pain I have borne. As much as I wanted to, I could not escape from these trials. I could not run away even when I yearned to, for I had rooted myself to this place.
I had my share of joys too, when the first raindrops descended, quenching my thirst, when little birds perched on me and sang of love, when they built nests upon my willing boughs and raised their young.
Every summer, the leaf sucking insects multiply and bite me endlessly. As the pain becomes unbearable, I ripen my leaves and shed them as they dry out. Now's the time for me to rest for a while in peace.
Without my leafy possessions, I am, to a great extent, free. Free of weight, free of the need to find water and nutrients for my leaves, free of fear of hurt or damage to them. Free even of the thought of yesterday or of morrow. And thus, I rest in my nature, in contentment.
After a while, again I start dreaming of my lush green foliage, of the cool breeze gently rustling my leaves, of the warmth of the sun, of the kiss of the dew, of my sap running through my leaves.
And then, new shoots appear in profusion upon my sleeping branches, now fully awake to the world. Tender leaves are accompanied by millions of flowers, their nectar smelling of fresh honey and feeding thousands of wild bees. In their maddening hum, I lose myself for days, until all the flowers are gone and seeds grow in their place.
Once more, I am painfully aware of the vicissitudes and fears of life and start yearning for rest. These repetitive cycles finally prompt me to accept what comes and to hold on to my precious peace within.
Acceptance brings forth the impartial witness and with the birth of witnessing, fear is gone. Unconditional acceptance of life makes me one with the immutable, eternal presence, my being, in which my body, my thoughts and my whole world appear to float.
I know that my body is valuable to your folk and that one day, a woodcutter will be here with his chainsaw. That too, is alright, for what must be, will be. Nature has revealed to me that I am not this form, but the deathless essence, the awareness within and everywhere. So dear friend, are you! "
