La vita e bella

Life is beautiful…

This is something almost everyone seems to accept but never actually able to appreciate. However, let us not burden ourselves with gloom over this matter, for there is still hope for them—for, I believe, acceptance is the first step towards appreciation. Instead, let us talk about life…

That we are alive is such a wonderful thing in itself. We breathe in the air, we drink the same water and we eat the same food (with an occasional variety) not consciously aware of why we are doing so. Now we think of it—why? To live, of course. If I look at it in a precise fashion then I come to a conclusion that is very baffling. I breathed in the same air, drank the same water and ate the same food for all my life so that I may write this essay for my blog, one day. Confusing, isn’t it? Well, that is what life is—it is decked with enigmatic answers. These answers always elude the person who is determined not to look beyond the darkness; but they give a new meaning to life, an urge to continue existing on the face of this planet and to live with happiness, to those who still seek for it. They find those people who appreciate how beautiful this life is.

The beauty of life seek refuge in the smallest of things, like a tinge of blush on a maiden’s cheeks, like in a small gesture of love, in the faint rustling of leaves, the musty smell of moist earth, incoherent babbling of an infant, daydreams, and so on and so forth. Life is like a woman, always eager to show us its beauty. It has even given us eyes to see that beauty. But we choose blindness. We have become so engrossed in cursing what life has taken away from us that we fail to marvel at what it has given to us. Let us choose to see once more…

Have you ever stood below a velvety black sky, dotted with stars? I bet you have. But have you ever been mesmerised by it? Again, I bet some of you have. But how many of you have continued to stare at the heavens for hours at a stretch, so much under its charm that you have forgotten everything else and lost yourself completely into it? Those precious few who have actually experienced such a novelty would understand why I use the term novelty for such an experience. It is like entering into a sea of tranquillity where all the worries are forgotten, all bitterness are swept away. It is like entering into the deepest state of meditation, where only an inexplicable pleasure waits to serve us. In such a state, one can see the shroud of darkness falling apart and the light that it had denied us. We can see life.

Beauty of life need not be as abstract as it seems to. We can find it in the form of music, poetry, painting, inventions (et cetera et cetera) all around us. But as I had said at the beginning of this post, we cannot fully appreciate that beauty. We are so beaten down by the bitterness of this world, at the end of the day, that we are either too weak or too uninterested to open our tired eyes.

But imagine; what if we choose to see again? What if we have the taste of the honeydew? Imagine the happiness we would get. Imagine the relief when all the bitterness is swept away. Isn’t opening our tired eyes a very small price to pay in order to be happy once more? Then why don’t we do it? Why don’t we see past the trifles? In every form of art this beauty of life is reflected; sometimes even through grotesqueness. Are we so busy that we do not have time to be happy; just like the house elves at Hogwarts?

Quoting William Henry Davies:

What is this life if, full of care
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

To me life is Nature and Nature is life. And hence, for me, the beauty of life resides in Nature herself. It is often said that the beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. That is true for me too. I find beauty in life because I find beauty in Nature.

“When you look beyond the darkness you shall find light. Open the doors of your minds. Relax your senses. Absorb the coldness, the quietness, the calmness and serenity of the night. Forget the lights of the cities. Look up at the sky. The stars are ready to serve you. Absorb the pure white light of the moon. She is always with you. You just need to open your mind’s eye to see her. You can feel her sitting beside you, dancing in the meadows, rowing silently in streams. To understand her you must come into her lap. Let the night fill you up with its sweetness. I can see her standing in front of me. She is happy and youthful once more. Try to feel the warmth of her presence. Can you see her?
“She is ethereal; she is enigmatic. She is the queen, forsaken by her beloveds. She is Nature herself. She cares for the world but the world is steadily going away from her. Life full of artificial comforts and lust for wealth is swaying us away from the original meaning of life. It is important to understand this. True happiness cannot be found in the shopping mal or cinema house. To seek true meaning of life, you must go back to the Nature. You cannot move forward if you forget our roots. You must look beyond”.