List 10 things you know to be absolutely certain.
The content reflects a contemplative morning of a man caught in discomfort due to humidity after the rain. As he navigates these feelings, he reminisces about lessons learned. He ponders the inevitability of life, and also the cyclical nature of daily events like sunrise and sunset. He reflects on the nature of human behaviour and habits, recognising their predictability and psychological roots. The certainty of these elements is highlighted. Growth and development are also vital components of life. They underscore a necessary harmony between living organisms and nature for mutual survival.
Humid morning
He got up early in the morning at 3:00 AM. The rain had stopped, but the weather was humid and uncomfortable. The fan was diligently doing its work, but it was not enough. Even a fraction of its stoppage caused perspiration and discomfort. Adding to the woe, the outage started moments before.
Daybreak started, though it was still dark. Amid the discomfort of humidity and heat, avoidable heated exchanges began between the couple. Heated arguments occur when the parties don’t amicably arrive at a point. Each one doggedly tries to thrust their thought, rubbishing others.
Calm atmosphere
The sultry heat and humidity suffocated him. He went up to the open terrace. The sun was peeping behind the dispersing clouds. Resting raindrops glittered like small diamonds on the fringes of leaves. Socked with moisture, the atmosphere looked composed and calm. A hovering Lapwing was calling: hut…tree…ti…hut…
The reverberating call of the bird was breaking the lull of the moist morning hours and sounded good. It diverted his mind and reminded about life and Nature.
Repeated happenings
As usual, he pensively started walking, which soon became a circumambulation of the terrace. Small birds like Muniah and sunbirds were hopping on the wet branches. They moved between the Plumeria and Nerium trees. Birds were silently doing their job. It was all soothing and pleasing. Watching them silently, he admired the beauty and intricacies of life-forms. The way Nature manifests itself in life is admirable. He found that there were certain things which are absolutely certain to happen. What are they? He thought and murmured to himself in a voice hardly laudable to anyone except him. (The Nature Network)
(1) The classroom
“What are the certain things?” he repeated to himself while trying to grope them in his mind. He remembered his high school days. The scene of a classroom emerged on his mental screen. Standing behind the dias was a man, his teacher in a black sherwani and a pair of white churidars. He was teaching them about the living organisms in his special manner, which looked impressive.
(2) The question
“There are certain things which distinguish a non-living thing from a living thing”, the teacher was saying, waving his hands. “These are the identifiers”, he went on saying, “they are characters and occurrences, certain to happen”. He finished saying. After a pause and scanning the class, the teacher asked, “Can any of you guess?” Pointing to a student sitting in the second row, he asked the student to stand up and answer.
(3) The answer
The student was attentively listening to his teacher. Though taken aback, he stood up and said, “death and decay”. The appreciative teacher smiled and said that though his answer was correct, the stage was the last one. The teacher commanded the student to sit down, and he did.
Past reflections
His train of thought broke with the ringing call of a Bulbul. It perched very near him on a Plumeria branch. The student he remembered was himself. “What an answer I gave to the teacher”, he smiled while speaking to himself. There are several things which are absolutely certain to happen in Nature and ultimately life. Sunrise, for example, is the one, he thought. Every morning, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
(1) Mechanical watch
The interconnected wheels of a mechanical watch collectively move and run the watch. It is a chain of movements, triggered by the movement of a wheel. Life is like it. Living organisms are born and die after completing their span. It is a cyclical process of life and death, which is certain. Efforts to disrupt the cycle by controlling birth and extending life lead to a tilted balance. Unchecked, this tilted balance becomes disastrous.
(2) Laws of gravitation
Sir Issac Newton was amazed to notice a falling apple. Many questions came to his mind, and he propounded his laws of gravitation after a series of experiments. One of the three laws he propounded states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
(3) Sunrise and sunset
Similarly, one sees a rising sun in the morning and a setting sun in the evening. It happens daily without fail and is inevitable. An absolute necessity for the survival of living organisms on the Earth, it repeats itself. Sunrise and sunset are the result of the spinning of the Earth on its axis. It is akin to the spring of a mechanical watch discussed above.
Human behaviour
Besides these celestial events, human behaviour is often predictable and tends to repeat itself. These are basically related to habits. A repeated action becomes a habit. Some habitually do things regardless of others’ harm or hurt.
(1) Psychological nature
Behaviours are primarily psychological in nature. They arise in the mind as thoughts. Intoxication, for example, starts with a thought of doing something different. At the beginning stage, the body tries to reject it. Nonetheless, repeated use accustoms the body. Eventually, it becomes a habit.
(2) Anger
Anger is yet another psychological and intrinsic trait. A temperament, anger, is very akin to habit. It can, thus, be learned to manage skillfully. Nevertheless, completely getting rid of it is nearly impossible.
Things that repeat
The absolutely certain items, thus, can be summarised as follows:
- Death and decay of an organism – It is one of the important happenings of a certain nature. It has been discussed in detail in the above paragraphs.
- Sunrise and sunset – These are processes that can never be skipped. They fall under the category of certainty. The day and night are the result of sunrise and sunset. It divides time between day and night for the ease of work.
- Movement of the Earth – The Earth rotates eternally on its axis and revolves around the Sun. It doesn’t stop revolving, nor does it stop spinning. This creates the cycle of day and night. It also causes the changing seasons. These are essential for life on Earth.
- Human nature and habits – These are more behavioural than psychological. As said earlier, a repeated action becomes a habit. The quality of inculcating a habit depends upon the choice and liking of an individual. It becomes necessary and certain to occur. Good habits are beneficial; otherwise, they harm the people dependent on or otherwise connected to them and the person himself.
- Growth and Development – It is one of the vital aspects of life. It works tirelessly to bring betterment to the life and surroundings of an organism. It is closely related to the points described above and sometimes becomes integral to each other. Collective changes give rise to growth. It is external, internal or at the behavioural and psychological level. It brings maturity and depth to an individual’s personality universally.
The list is not in a particular order and is not comprehensive. It, nevertheless, touches aspects affecting individual organisms, physical features and the quality of life and Nature.
In the end
Living organisms, including human beings, are consubstantial to Nature and its elements. It is quite understandable why both show resemblance in behaviour and structural intricacies at the molecular level. It is essential to conclude that Nature and organisms must keep a harmonious relationship. This relationship is crucial for mutual survival, especially for human beings.
Further readings:
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