Have you ever noticed that if you sit quietly near a brook, you can hear its music? The soft gushing sound, the rocks and water crashing against each other and the strong, swift current, it all seems like a sweet, reflective melody. There is always a sense of movement, of activity, of impermanence.
Have you also, ever noticed a dead tree? A tree without any leaves and no sign of life, standing alone and naked against the sky, all its branches outlined in a towering silhouette, and there, in its bleak nakedness there is a song, there is a sense of vitality, of vigour, for it waits for spring to cover its branches with beautiful, colorful leaves again.
Have you ever noticed a caterpillar just before its transformation into a butterfly? It’s extremely grotesque with all of it in a grossly distorted shape, but does it not eventually evolve in a butterfly?
Have you ever noticed the setting sun from the bank of a river? How it exudes the most incredible hues into the waters before dying down and leaving the world enveloped in a forbidding darkness.
Without seeming too profound and spiritual, I merely mean to point out how life as we know it and life as we live is so very similar to the ever flowing river, the caterpillar, the dead tree and the setting sun, it is eternally changing, constantly moving. There is no sign of stagnation or immobility. However, we ourselves, either in an attempt to resist pain or out of our own insecurities, our own uncertainties and reasons, form these intangible yet extremely strong walls around us. Walls of comfort, of virtues, of rebellion, of religion, of fear and many more and while we are busy creating and breaking down these walls…life moves on. It rears its ugly head more than we’d like and smiles that vague smile on us once in a while.
Like the setting sun and the dying caterpillar, we seek a reason to fly, to shine. Some manage to find that elusive standing while others struggle to find a foothold. Staggering, falling, picking ourselves up again, experiencing misery, anguish, mirth, laughter, trials, making memories, making mistakes, making the same mistakes, learning from these mistakes, growing up, acting like a child, numbness, excitement, fervour, partings, meetings, stillness, desolation, strength…through this kaleidoscope of emotions and incidents we stumble upon life, discovering our true selves and slowly dropping the façade we’re compelled to put on. And while the transition happens, people see the shine, the true light in each and every one of us, similar to the changing caterpillar which evolves into a butterfly. And even though, the butterfly may seem delicate, fragile to the eye, don’t you forget the fact that it has what it takes to fly!
