There is a pleasure in the pathless woods;
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes,
By the deep sea and music in its roar;
I love not man the less but nature more....
-Lord Byron
The life we 'modern' beings are supposed to live is so far away from the reality, far away from the roots. This is not who we are, this isnt who we are meant to be. On a rainy day, trapped inside the security of our houses, whenever we take a look outside the window- the pouring rain, the blowing wind, the wet grass, the earth....We have a sudden urge, a feeling to rush out, run, play, get wet, lie on the grass, smell the earth. But then..we do what we are 'supposed' to. Shut the windows, slam the doors and go back to living the life we are accustomed to. It is well known that every other animal lives longer in captivity including birds. They live the longest but do they live their lives to the fullest? Do they even live at all? We talk about freeing animals from their cages so they could live with nature, failing to realise we, ourselves are trapped inside cages, built by us, unknowingly locking ourselves deeper everyday.
My aim in life is to live my life to the fullest like a free bird, to leave the smallest carbon footprint or none at all. I'm not the first one to come up with this thought, Mahatma Gandhi said: "There is enough for everyone's need but not enough for man's greed." True indeed. Gandhi himself lived the life of simplicity not taking a bit more than neccessary. The saints and fakirs who move free, going whichever way they wish, to me they describe freedom. They live from the earth forming an inseperable bond between mankind and its roots. They live on alms. In the remote areas of the Himalayas isolated but surrounded by lovers and well wishers- the trees, the rivers, the snow. Some say they show devotion, some say they are searching for the eternal truth, as per I'm concerned they search for themselves and their inner peace, inner happiness.
Lord Buddha, who inspite of having every chance at the life commoners would envy, chose the path of simplicity and happiness.
Happiness doesnt come from objects but from exploring and discovering. A grass flower can cause happiness. Laying down under the stary sky can cause happiness. The nature is made up of happiness all we have to do is find it and that isnt very difficult. My aim in life is to find that happiness everyday and in every moment. I dont want to run behind fame, I dont want to chase high incomes. Once you've found happiness I know these things will feel so futile, so lifeless.
Life is beautiful. I want to search for the beauty. I want to search for the inspiration to live from the nature.
Living by the nature, living with the nature and living from the nature is what I want to do. I want to look for the raw and pure happiness, roam in the woods, sleep under the bare sky with millions of stars staring at me with their shiny eyes. Away from the chaos and complications of the 'developed world.' Away from the differences, away from the hatred and the sorrow...
I want to know who I am and be myself, be who I'm meant to be. The trees, the rivers, the rocks, the sky, the sand, the bushes, the earth, thats my home. I belong there. My spirit, my soul cannot be trapped inside the four walls of the man made cage. Each one of us, deep inside our hearts, we hide the true desires. NO! true desires dont include buying the latest model of smartphones or that pretty dress we saw the other day at the mall. It includes running, yes running away from it all, as fast as we can, till our legs begin to hurt, till we can hear our hearts pounding, till we cant breathe and then, closing our eyes, opening them only to find ourselves lying on the grass, the dew against our bare skin, with no honking horns or loudspeakers but the buzz of the beatles and the chirps of the free birds.
'I wanna be there when the sun rises each morning and when the moon comes up every night. I want to be there when the flowers bloom and when they dry up. I wanna be there when the thunder strikes and when the breeze blows.' I dont want to miss a thing. Life is too short anyway, why not make the most of it?
My journey wont be eay. Easy things are boring anyway. Being different isnt easy. What facinates me most is I'm not different. I'm just like everybody else. In there hearts everybody wants a way out, some just dont know it. Breaking through the prejudices would be toughest of them all.
I'm still a wanderer and my aim in life is to search for a life outside the cage. Deep inside, I know, I have what it takes.
