What brings a tear of joy to your eye?

The narrative explores a man’s profound connection with nature. He reflects on life’s transience and contemplates the power of the universe. Sitting by a potted plant after the rain, he finds joy in the beauty of nature. He especially delights in a rainbow. These lead him to contemplate gratitude and obligation. He acknowledges nature’s duality, both constructive and destructive, exemplified by the historical destruction of Pompeii. The piece emphasises the dynamic essence of life and the limits of human understanding about the cosmos. In the end, the overwhelmed protagonist expresses this through tears of joy. He celebrates the unseen forces that govern existence.

Morning

He was sitting quietly. It was morning and like always, seated in a moulded chair near a lone potted plant, he was staring at the flowers. His mind was ostensibly calm and unoccupied, but was not. In the quiet of nature, philosophers and scientists say that nothing is empty in this universe. What apparently looks vacant always has something.

Nothing is empty in Nature

Brooding on the point, he realised that his mind was not empty. It simply can’t. Scanning around inquisitively, he descried a tumbler on the table. Apparently, empty but air fill the tumbler. Smiling at his foolishness, he fixed his gaze on the potted plant beside which he was sitting. Swinging its branches and floral bunches with water droplets on its petals, the plant had become his morning companion. He often soliloquises with it, considering that the plant was listening to him and responding with its gestures.

After rains

It had rained the earlier night. The rain continued till daybreak and thereafter. The surroundings had become wet and many water droplets laced the leaves of plants, trees and herbs. Shining like transparent glass beads, the laced drops looked pretty. Refracting light through it presented a phantasmagoric ambience. The Plumeria, with beautiful phyllotaxy of canoe-like leaves laced with raindrops, looked greener. Three flowers had fallen in a row on one of the leaves. It appeared as though the tree was offering oblation to Nature for its bounties.

Overwhelmed with joy and a feeling of obligation, his eyes brimmed, and his throat choked. When a tree can feel obligation and express it with a gesture, why can’t humans, he thought.

Nature and beauty of a Rainbow

While deeply engrossed in his rapturous thoughts, he saw the sun shining brightly from behind a wide slit created by parted clouds. It was mesmerising. He looked up at the sky to find that a graceful and kaleidoscopic rainbow had appeared. The sight captivated him, and he couldn’t help but stare at it unblinking. William Wordsworth had rightly written. Suddenly, the stanzas reflected in his mind:

My heart leaps up
When I behold
A rainbow in the
Sky...

occurrences in Nature

The natural occurrences are of great importance to him. He always feels attached and attracted to natural activities. Every season, occasion or change affects him considerably. Thinking about the accuracy of happenings makes him overwhelmed. He generously thanks the unseen but omnipresent, all-powerful force.

Thanks giving

He is always thankful and obliged to the Almighty. Expressing gratitude for the moments the Almighty granted to watch, enjoy, and appreciate. Incapable of repaying in the same coin, he becomes swamped with joy and a sense of obligation. (Trail Bliss)

The Essence of Gratitude: Connecting with Nature and the Divine

Mysteries of Nature

Mysteries of Nature are yet to be solved completely. Every time a thing is solved, another, more complex and tricky one, trails. The Almighty poses this challenge to test the endurance and grit of human beings. They pass each test with merit. Various archaeological excavations reveal many secrets of past life and civilisation. With the persistent efforts of scientists secrets of Nature revealed despite they are deeply burried.

Fury of Nature: Mt. Vesuvius

A civilisation flourished two millennia before which we now know as Roman Civilisation. A violent, fiery flow of molten lava erupted. Ash and dust destroyed the highly developed Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 AD. It buried everything deep beneath layers of ash, pumice, and pyroclastic flow from Mt. Vesuvius. Once thriving and vibrant, two cities wiped from the minds of human beings as well. The lost cities were rediscovered in 1748, but it was not yet ascertained. After a decade and a half, it was ascertained in 1763 as Pompeii. This is an example of the mighty power of Nature and its effect.

Why retelling the story?

The purpose of retelling the story about Pompeii was to remind readers of the tremendous power Nature possesses. Nature used this power both in constructive and destructive ways. When used in construction, Nature creates myriad different colourful life forms like animals and plants. When used in destruction, it annihilates everything. It is variously described in different religious scriptures. Our understanding of the cycle of construction and destruction is limited and subjective, despite appearing unbiased.

Sources of knowledge

Before the advent of experimental science, our knowledge was scientific but subjective and predictive. Perception and presumptions were sources of our knowledge, which were debatable and changed according to new logic and arguments. Experiments led to confirmation of the facts mooted. Thus, the hypothesis (imagination) turned into an actual rule of life. As human knowledge grew and new discoveries emerged, old theories gave way to new concepts and theories.

It is also noteworthy that life has never been stagnant. It was vibrant, has been and shall stay so. It is the fleeting nature of things that keeps changing, though the human mind thinks it is permanent.

Nature is vibrant

Life has never been stagnant. It was vibrant, from time immemorial and will stay so. It is the fleeting nature of things that keeps changing, though the human mind thinks it is permanent.

Being permanent is tantamount to stagnation and inertia. Nature has, thus, an intrinsic tendency to change. This is the force that overwhelms an exquisite mind and fills it with ecstatic emotion and brimming eyes. It is the point when reverence spontaneously erupts in the human psyche that leads to his cry. The tears are not of sorrow. They come out to express extreme joy to convey a feeling of respect towards the unseen prodigal force. The force which is running the whole universe flawlessly.

Life on other planets?

Apart from Earth, scientists are searching for life on other planets and even in the cosmos. People using their imagination have mentally created many images of persons living on other planets and named them aliens. Fictional “flying saucers,” along with various blazing objects, have often made headlines but have not been substantiated. Humans can’t imagine creatures other than themselves, hence they create humanoid aliens. Taming the idea that the aliens would respond, radio waves have been released in the universe.

Impossible becomes possible

Experiencing a miraculous moment and the complex actions involved can leave a person feeling awestruck. Impossible becomes possible. A humongous dam can be breached to bits. Natural fury, like a cloudburst of Dharali (Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, India), and other places, shows the tremendous power of Nature. Luxuriant vegetation, sweet fruits, and nutritious food on the other hand, give pleasure. These two extremities are awesome and cause a person to become overwhelmed and cry.

Humans have limited knowledge

Human beings have limited knowledge. They do not know the exact quantum and size of the universe. It has been estimated that there are many galaxies in the cosmos. Our solar system is a tiny speck of a vast galaxy. This galaxy is one of the several in the cosmos.

Many things are yet to be known. Human knowledge about other planets of the solar system is also limited. The presence of life on other planets or cosmos is still under the murk and assumption. Search for water on other planets is still under the lens. Water is essential for life, so it can cast some light on life other than the Earth. Water, nonetheless, is found only on the Earth.

Why only Earth?

What makes this happen? Is it the proximity to the sun that caused water to be nonexistent on other planets? Earth is the third planet in succession of planets revolving around the sun. Why is it that planets other than the Earth couldn’t develop water? There are many questions, and scientists are burning the midnight oil to solve this riddle. With the knowledge we have, it is clear that biochemical reactions are very complex. It can take months for these reactions to finish in a laboratory. Yet, in a living body, thousands of such reactions are taking place every moment. How is it working? Which forces govern us is the question that churns the mind.

Truth is eternal

The agitated mind finds comfort in the imaginary world of miracles. With this, humans named variously the unseen power governing the universe. Considering their thought is superior to others, they are fighting each other, demeaning and scathing others’ faith. It is ridiculous. The truth is eternal. It needs to be achieved. We should not deceive ourselves with the dogma of fake ideas.

Thoughts broke

He sat beside the potted plant, continuing his monologue for a long time. Tears rolled down his cheeks. Putting off his glasses, he cleaned them and watched around. The surroundings look fresher. This gave him a break to compose himself. He saw the plant, which was still smiling and swinging in the cold breeze and atomised drizzle.

Some more interesting reads:

• The Art of Expressing Gratitude in Life
• The Beauty of Nature: Observing Life’s Intricacies
• Life on Mars: A Journey Through an Alternate Universe
• Discovering Nature’s Beauty: A Poetic Journey
• The Impact of Influential Teachers on Learning

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