February has always been a bitter-sweet kind-of-month for me. My 'Monalisa moments' -- I love to call them. The best taste for the soul does arrive in Spring! February also happens to be my birthday month, and no matter where I am in the World -- I know when they come. Fortunately, in the end, you stay rooted, usually grateful, and remain humble when welcoming change.
A little throwback to offer for not publishing my thoughts on building Castles in the Sky: I've been spending time at the hospital, not as a patient -- thankfully, but as an "attender" (they call me this) -- taking care of my mum, and now at home -- as she recoups from total knee-replacement surgery. Weak in the knees -- all the family suffer from it, especially the women! Not sure if I must make an attempt to decorate the family-men folk here? I suppose it is safe to say: genetics should be crowned instead.
Be prepared to simply forget sleep when there's a loved one on a hospital bed. Most of it you lose worrying, and a quarter goes out the window with nurses, and ayyas and doctors checking-up on the patient. No blame to them, please! We won't be up and about if they don't sacrifice their sleep to rejuvenate us. But the point of this blogpost is not about hospitals or patients or attenders; it is about what wonderful Spring does to you!
Seasons really haven't been a thing for Chennai, but if you've travelled enough you come to appreciate the distinct nature of each weather-season and the moods they bring with them. When harsh winters melt away, sweet-smelling freshness greets you and I bet it takes a particular strength for delicate beauty to push through. Well, the hot, hotter and hottest style of weather in Chennai offers little variation, but one can still appreciate the subtle transformations.
It is that time in the year when cool winds begin to feel like warm breeze; when Chennai's green gets a rather dry, yellowish tint, and yes -- when bougainvilleas begin to burst out into a riot of colours all around you. The changes leave you second-guessing -- 'Are we headed for Summer already'! Spring might be a short-stay guest in Chennai, but she does bring delights when passing through. Isn't it always the softer, fleeting moments that give us pluck and spine to deal with big loads of crap? I think so.
There's this one birthday Spring I spent in the UK, and the image of a single deep-yellow daffodil swaying in the gentle breeze I cannot forget. Something about the colour and the movement of the delicate flower has remained with me. Imagine the effect on William Wordsworth when he saw 'a host of golden daffodils'.
I have come to realise that restlessness always wiggles its way to the surface to make sure you know that something MUST change. It usually takes me a while to figure out what / when / how, etc. Yet somehow, the Universe knows what to take from you and how much to replace. You just need to muster-up enough courage to checkout the unknown -- that's the terrifying bit. With hope for the better, just a plunge is all it takes, honestly. And then, you always have an image of something nice from Spring to keep your sanity intact, like I do with the solitary daffodil!
Mostly just remember: February's Spring air seems to have something in it that brings back your courage to change, gently.
A little throwback to offer for not publishing my thoughts on building Castles in the Sky: I've been spending time at the hospital, not as a patient -- thankfully, but as an "attender" (they call me this) -- taking care of my mum, and now at home -- as she recoups from total knee-replacement surgery. Weak in the knees -- all the family suffer from it, especially the women! Not sure if I must make an attempt to decorate the family-men folk here? I suppose it is safe to say: genetics should be crowned instead.
Be prepared to simply forget sleep when there's a loved one on a hospital bed. Most of it you lose worrying, and a quarter goes out the window with nurses, and ayyas and doctors checking-up on the patient. No blame to them, please! We won't be up and about if they don't sacrifice their sleep to rejuvenate us. But the point of this blogpost is not about hospitals or patients or attenders; it is about what wonderful Spring does to you!
Seasons really haven't been a thing for Chennai, but if you've travelled enough you come to appreciate the distinct nature of each weather-season and the moods they bring with them. When harsh winters melt away, sweet-smelling freshness greets you and I bet it takes a particular strength for delicate beauty to push through. Well, the hot, hotter and hottest style of weather in Chennai offers little variation, but one can still appreciate the subtle transformations.
It is that time in the year when cool winds begin to feel like warm breeze; when Chennai's green gets a rather dry, yellowish tint, and yes -- when bougainvilleas begin to burst out into a riot of colours all around you. The changes leave you second-guessing -- 'Are we headed for Summer already'! Spring might be a short-stay guest in Chennai, but she does bring delights when passing through. Isn't it always the softer, fleeting moments that give us pluck and spine to deal with big loads of crap? I think so.
There's this one birthday Spring I spent in the UK, and the image of a single deep-yellow daffodil swaying in the gentle breeze I cannot forget. Something about the colour and the movement of the delicate flower has remained with me. Imagine the effect on William Wordsworth when he saw 'a host of golden daffodils'.
I have come to realise that restlessness always wiggles its way to the surface to make sure you know that something MUST change. It usually takes me a while to figure out what / when / how, etc. Yet somehow, the Universe knows what to take from you and how much to replace. You just need to muster-up enough courage to checkout the unknown -- that's the terrifying bit. With hope for the better, just a plunge is all it takes, honestly. And then, you always have an image of something nice from Spring to keep your sanity intact, like I do with the solitary daffodil!
Mostly just remember: February's Spring air seems to have something in it that brings back your courage to change, gently.
