Silence And Sounds Of Dawn

There is a rhythm to the morning. 

It starts with blissful silence. I revel in this. There is something very soothing about the silence of the dawn. It is filled with possibilities, millions of them. You get the feeling that nothing can go wrong in the day. 

The first sound to break the silence of the dawn is the elevator which is situated very close to my house. I know that it is my neighbour going down to either dispose of the garbage or to pluck flowers for worship. She usually leaves at 5 am. 

Then come the vehicles. Mostly milk-deliveries. Two-wheelers with their riders talking over the phone, at times humming songs, sometimes playing music on their mobiles and other times hearing the news. The elevator that starts operating at 5 am enjoys very rare moments of respite throughout the day.

Since a few days, as I prepare tea, I get to hear the sound of spices being grounded in a flat upstairs. Probably ginger or elaichi for tea. It makes me smile, this moment of unplanned camaraderie as someone else prepares tea the same time as I do. Small world!

During winter, the birds break out their calls around 6. As spring and summer eventually gather momentum, the birds start as early as 5.30. I love their chirps - excited, happy, at peace, one with nature... I am already dreading the coming days when the grating drone of air conditioners will dampen and disturb the calm of the morning. 

But for now, the morning is blissful and the birds are winning. I will enjoy these days, soaking up the silence of the dawn and the songs of the birds, to be relieved on days ahead when the air conditioners will leave no room for silence or for thought.

The Magical Elixir Named Coffee

I am currently reading a book titled Zen: The Art Of Simple Living written by Shunmyo Masuno. It's a wonderful book containing 100 practices suggested by Zen monks for mindful living.

One of the chapters is titled - Make a delicious cup of coffee. The author tells us to picturise this scene - going to the woods, collecting firewood, making a fire, boiling water, grinding the coffee beans and relishing a cup of traditionally-made coffee under the sky. The point was to emphasize that life requires time and effort, to quote the author.

While it is not possible for us city-dwellers to prepare coffee this way, I do have a favorite ritual of preparing fresh filter coffee in the early hours of the morning. I love the process of preparing decoction. I love the aroma of coffee powder, the tip-top sound that comes out of the filter as the boiled water drips through the coffee powder and falls down into the lower half of the filter, and the aroma of filter coffee that permeates in the whole house.

Nothing, absolutely nothing beats the happiness of preparing fresh filter coffee in the morning. It gives a much-required kick to the day, just like drinking coffee does.

Life as a homemaker may not allow much space for excitement or new adventures, but seeking bliss from daily rituals does make our days interesting. And isn't it what life is all about - to seek the 'new' in the 'usual', and the 'extra' in the 'ordinary'!

Of Glimmers And Triggers!

Most of my time goes in cooking and - washing the dishes. The dishes, they are never-ending. The basket in my kitchen is almost never empty, always overflowing with washed dishes waiting to be dried. 

Some days, the dishwashing starts as early as 5.30 in the morning. 

That particular morning, I just had had tea and when I went to the kitchen, I saw three dishes waiting inside the sink, to be washed. While usually I try to view my household chores as an exercise in mindfulness, that day it irked me, that at the wee hours of the morning, instead of doing something productive, I was washing dishes!

But then, I experienced a moment of glimmer. Have you come across this term, 'glimmer'? It is said to be the exact opposite of the word 'trigger'. While a trigger ushers in negative reactions/emotions within a person, a glimmer invokes positive feelings such as wonder, awe or bliss. 

As I sullenly washed the dishes, a cool breeze wafted from the window of the kitchen. This window is directly over the sink, so I felt the full impact of the breeze. Have you experienced the breeze of the dawn? It feels ethereal, like the sigh of Nature as she unfurls another beautiful day. The breeze brought in the fragrance of dewdrops and I found myself smiling all of a sudden, my mood considerably brightened and refreshed. 

May be its all about balance. The days will bring both triggers and glimmers, and somewhere between these two, we find our moments of peace and bliss. 

Finding The 'Extra' In An 'Ordinary" Day!

A daily routine is being set gradually.

I have come to look forward to waking up at the wee hours of the dawn, doing some stretching exercises and yoga and finally reading a page or two. Needless to say, reading is my favorite part of the morning. 

Today, when I opened the door of my house in the morning, I was treated to the scintillating aroma of dew drops. Have you ever experienced it - this aroma, that feels earthy, refreshing and so pure?! The leaves of the tree in front of my house were glistening and for a few seconds, I simply stood beside the leaves, inhaling the pure fragrance of nature. Mornings like this come every once in a while, and when they come, it feels simply magical!

The rest of the morning went by in the usual chores. Sometimes they make me wonder whether there is more to life than this, whether I have a higher calling or purpose. But then, the kid came home from school, looking really excited. I thought it would be news about a holiday. Only that can bring such enthusiasm in the kid. But he showed me a small empty box of Tic-Tac, a chewing tablet that he is very fond of. "I am starting a collection of this!" He said with a huge smile. 

And just like that, I got the answer to my ponderings. May be there is no higher calling or purpose to my life, other than living every day well and finding a lot to be grateful for - like, a dawn spent in solitude, inhaling the earthy fragrance of a dew-drop or finding happiness in your kid's simple joys.

Sometimes, that's all we need, don't we?