Last week went by so quickly. It feels like only yesterday that I wrote you my last newsletter, and here I am again, writing to you once more.
But I love this ritual. Writing to you feels like a modern-day form of letter writing.
In the process, my own thoughts get polished, and even when I sit down not knowing what I’ll write, somehow the words slowly unfold, and moves in the direction it desires.
Today is my last full day at home before I leave tomorrow night.
I’ll be travelling by train from Siliguri to Kolkata—an overnight journey of about 10 hours.
I love solo train rides, and I love how soundly I sleep on the train with its steady rhythm and movement as if I am being cradled to sleep.
I am from Siliguri, a growing city in the northeast Indian state of West Bengal.
It sits in the foothills of the Himalayas, surrounded by tea gardens.
The weather here is pleasant on most days, and it is a major corridor to many of our northeastern neighbouring states, including Assam, Arunachal, and even countries such as Nepal and Bhutan.
Darjeeling, the famous hill station developed by the British, known for its Darjeeling Tea, is three hours away from here.
Anyway, we just had our long weekend.
- 15th August was our Independence Day.
- 16th August was Janmashtami- the Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna,
- and 17th yesterday was Sunday.
15th August was also my Father’s 10th death anniversary.
I thought of him and how I wished he were here to enjoy life with us and live in our new home.
We came to know that 15th August is also Miguer’s birthday. He is Priti didi’s son, whom I had written about in my last week’s newsletter, if you happened to read it.
I also know of a Didi whose daughter was born on the very same day my father passed away- 15th August 2015.
I remember thinking then: “Someone is born on the very day my father dies.”
This is life, perhaps.
On a single day, countless die and countless are born, sharing birthdays and death days together.
For Miguer, it was his 8th birthday.
My mother believes that no matter what, parents should always celebrate their child’s birthday while they can. Children never forget the love and importance given to their birthdays, and they carry it with them forever.
So my birthday has always been celebrated like an occasion, even if a small occasion. And I also make sure that anyone close to me also celebrates theirs.
If not anything, they should at least cut a cake, blow a candle and feel special.
Because isn’t birth the greatest miracle and mystery of life?
Every kid at one point always asks, “From where was I born?”
“How do we get born?”
My mother says I used to ask the same when I was a kid, just like Miguer now.
And our mothers tell us, “The Doctor cut you out of my stomach”
“You were inside my stomach”
But as we grow up, we become satisfied with the answers, or rather, we stop asking questions.
The curiosity goes away, and we stop feeling the mystery because we end up normalising everything and getting used to it.
But the truth is, the whole world is a series of miracles. We’re just so used to them that we call them ordinary things.
But being born is extraordinary.
Being alive at this moment is extraordinary.
- The Earth, with its fertile soil giving birth to crops and trees, is extraordinary. No wonder we call her ‘Mother Earth’ for a reason. It has given birth to all life. Earth is indeed our very first mother.
- The trees that are just as alive as we are, taking up our carbon dioxide and giving out oxygen for us to breathe, are extraordinary.
- The fact that we can understand an animal’s feelings and communicate with them in a language we don’t speak, yet understand, is extraordinary too.
- A caterpillar turning into a butterfly is a miracle.
The whole world is a miracle indeed and full of ordinary wonders.
But perhaps the greatest of all is birth, and also death.
Both are in God’s timing.
I once read somewhere that just as the time before you were born does not belong to you, so too the time after you die does not belong to you.
The world existed before us, and it will exist long after us.
I don’t say this to make you feel insignificant or small.
On the contrary, let this impermanence remind you of how much you matter to be here and how vastly important it is that you are here.
It is very much possible that you could not have been born, but for a brief span of time, God decided for you to be born.
And even though the time before you and after you might not be yours, but this time that you are alive is rightfully yours, and you deserve to be here.
That we get to live this life, that we get to make little contributions on our time here on this Earth, enjoy the connections we have and simply live our life being born as the highest of all life forms living on Earth is a gift.
We are clothed in our body, with hands to hold, eyes to see, a mind to think, a heart to love.
We are all a living, walking miracle. A living, walking Universe.
God is the greatest manifester, and because you are born into this Universe from nothing, you, too, are (and as a matter of fact, everything born) a manifestation of God.
I was born a Buddhist, and in Buddhism, there is no concept of God. However, I do believe in God.
But if you ask me what God means to me, it is quite different from the conventional way.
I would love to share that, but it would take a long time again, so I will leave it for another day.
But here’s something I had written about prayer and why I pray, if you’d like to read.
For now, I just want to remind you of the preciousness of life, and of the little miracles we often forget to notice.
Let me list out a few things that we are so used to but are indeed a mystery and wonder.
- The way tears wash our emotions
- The way a cut heals magically on its own. No wonder the phrase, “The doctor dresses the wound. God heals it”
- The uniqueness of every person’s laughter.
- The way we grow from being a child to a teenager and slowly age.
- The way love is made between two people, and a child is born
- The way music is formed. Millions of music are formed, yet millions of music and tunes can still be formed.
- The way our body functions with delicate and accurate precision.
- Water that sustains life. I feel as if water is the milk of our Mother Earth.
- Puppies being born out of nowhere
- Every life being born out of nowhere
- The wisdom of trees to bloom and wither according to seasons
- Sleep is a miracle and mystery ~ how we go to sleep every night and sleep for a whole 7-9 hours, the same time as a full busy work day and wake up fully rested.
- The night sky full of stars, light-years away yet visible to us.
We live in a magical Universe.
Let us continue to seek wonder and name the little everyday miracles that we deem to be ordinary.
Go about your day as if you are a part of this entire dance of miracles. Because you are.
Feel as if God chose you to belong here because He did.
Give thanks that you were born and that you get to experience the beauty of this life in all its glory and its beautiful mess.
Spend some time at least in the day, particularly in the morning and before going to bed, being in awe of the fact that you are alive on this magical Earth.
It will change the tone of your life.
xx
P.S This was a part from my Mindful Monday Newsletter. To receive my newsletter directly to your inbox, subscribe below. It would be wonderful to have you ❤️
Journal Prompt of the Week
Table of Contents
“What part of myself do I want to nurture more this season?”
Blog Post of the Week
Quote of the Week
One from Others
The beauty of you is how you wear who you are
— Timothy Egart
One from me
If the trees don’t distinguish
who is to enjoy her fruits,
If the land doesn’t distinguish
who is to live in her land,
If the water doesn’t distinguish
whose hand it prefers to wash,
then what makes us humans
who actually has nothing in its name
to draw so many distinctions among ourselves
when the masters themselves make none
This much for today!
I wish you a wonderful week ahead
Love and regards.
Past Newsletters you might like:
Loved your poem 😍
And thank you for your gentle reminder, to be grateful for things we have 🙂
Thank you <3