There is a huge tree at the end of the road. Below the tree
is an eternally overflowing garbage bin. The tree is so huge that it feels
like, it's foliage spans miles. Nobody ever stopped in its shade because of the
garbage bin. But it has stood there even before I was born. Shooting upwards is
the strong stench from the garbage bin and showering down just as constantly
are tiny countless leaves, languishing in their own complex circles before they
touch the tar road. Over the years of passing by this bend, I had learnt to
ignore both.
And today after so many years when my mind was dizzy with the circling thoughts in my head, my feet came to a gentle unexpected halt. I looked up and felt something asking for my attention. As the tree continued to say nothing, I felt overwhelmed by its immense foliage. It is a sky by itself. Leaves as sparkling as stars, together creating an unspeakable embrace. I was overcome with gratitude, though not because of the coolness of its shade. Not because of its height or it's awe-inspiring breadth. Not because it stands on the start of the road that leads upto my house. I bowed down simply because it has stood there for long.
It has stood there for such a long time, that either you can pass by completely oblivious to it, or you can look up and be showered upon with the tremendous beauty and mystery that has simply gathered and become a part of it through all these years. The tree has become like the sky by just being there, constantly, for a long time. I felt at home near it, because time has literally filled into its existence and made it wide and huge. There is a lot of space over there for one who is lost. Not just the physical space and shade. That almost any tree can give. But here in the presence of something that has simply been and existed silently, for all this mind boggling span of time, there's a space into which my very stifled being can rest and expand. I took so much time running around and getting beaten down. After all these years of my life, today I look up at this tree which probably knows everything about me. But it doesn't matter when I choose to look up. Even if I had looked up many years ago, it would have still showered unconditional, uncontainable love!
And today after so many years when my mind was dizzy with the circling thoughts in my head, my feet came to a gentle unexpected halt. I looked up and felt something asking for my attention. As the tree continued to say nothing, I felt overwhelmed by its immense foliage. It is a sky by itself. Leaves as sparkling as stars, together creating an unspeakable embrace. I was overcome with gratitude, though not because of the coolness of its shade. Not because of its height or it's awe-inspiring breadth. Not because it stands on the start of the road that leads upto my house. I bowed down simply because it has stood there for long.
It has stood there for such a long time, that either you can pass by completely oblivious to it, or you can look up and be showered upon with the tremendous beauty and mystery that has simply gathered and become a part of it through all these years. The tree has become like the sky by just being there, constantly, for a long time. I felt at home near it, because time has literally filled into its existence and made it wide and huge. There is a lot of space over there for one who is lost. Not just the physical space and shade. That almost any tree can give. But here in the presence of something that has simply been and existed silently, for all this mind boggling span of time, there's a space into which my very stifled being can rest and expand. I took so much time running around and getting beaten down. After all these years of my life, today I look up at this tree which probably knows everything about me. But it doesn't matter when I choose to look up. Even if I had looked up many years ago, it would have still showered unconditional, uncontainable love!
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