The Call of the Wild
A mini blog series- Part I
Like every other kid out there, I loved being in nature. Playing in the mud, getting drenched in the rain, rolling on the grass.
And then, Life happened.
I am one of the lucky few in the country who had a chance to study in a college that can boast of its own private beach. First-year — Almost every alternate day I was at the beach- sometimes alone or with friends. We visited the temple overlooking the beach, followed by a rundown to the shack to slurp a hot bowl of Maggie. A visit to the lighthouse.
As the years progressed, the trips to the beach started going down. By the time it was time to graduate, I went for the customary trip to the beach to say goodbye. A place that once felt exhilarating, peaceful, almost magical — was now part of a farewell checklist. All of this in a matter of 4 years.
Priorities started setting in. It was now about “enjoying life” with friends, colleagues, traveling — and of course learning to be good at my work.
All these years, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with friends, family. Been good at my work, learning to be better than yesterday. I am at 35 and I have no regrets. But no matter how good a life you may have, it does take a toll on you, isn’t it? There will always be minor and major stresses in your life. I have had my share of it too, just like you.
There were days of hopelessness, of despair, of not being truly joyous. A feeling of something amiss. A feeling of being caught in the web of mundane — despite doing remarkable things in life.
Eventually, I did discover what truly helped me get my joy back from the everyday grind of life. And here are two things that made a huge impact on my life
(a) When I started reading again — after a good gap of being in the “I-am-too-busy-to-read” zone.
(b) My little attempts every day of getting closer to nature.
The change was gradual yet profound. Something that you wouldn’t even notice in the beginning.
And hence, here I am sharing this journey with you which I am still on.
Reading is something very personal. While some enjoy the company of self-help books, others love to venture into the land of mythology. And hence, I shall take my time to share my reading journey with you.
Let us talk about the second thing that helped me immensely to navigate in life.
Nature.
I started small. By taking time out every day to walk in my little garden. Either early morning or late at night. I was either in the company of chirping birds or cricket. The cooling breeze of early morning and night — in the otherwise hot weather of the desert.
My 5 minutes' walk got me to notice the browning leaves of the Pothos, the woody stem of coleus that could otherwise be bushy, the dust laden leaves of purple heart plant that could have been a lot more radiant.
I knew nothing about the plants. But I wanted to do something about it. I started by using google lens to learn the name of the plant! I started small by watering the plants. And learning more about them.
As I implemented what I learnt, I started looking forward to my time with the plants. The little time in the mornings or sometimes late evenings that I spent in the garden, was meditative.
It felt real, wholesome, satisfying to the soul.
I am now 6 months into my journey with gardening and decided to write about my little experiences of what I’ve learnt and what I intend to learn about gardening, my mini attempts to get myself and my family closer to nature, esp my daughter.
I would love to share my journey with you in this mini blog series. Just follow along, with whatever resources you have, with whatever time that you can spare in a day.
You owe this to yourself, to the generations ahead and to this beautiful Mother Earth.
