In our daily lives, in our hurry, rush and race to reach an arbitrary finish line, we look but we don’t see; we hear but we don’t listen, and we touch but we don’t feel. Do we even allow our senses to do what they evolved for, which is, to create our individual, personal experience of the world around?
I chanced upon a TED talk (link given at the end of the post) which pointed this out, precisely. Music is soul food for me. I suspect it’s so, for everyone. But we hardly realise what intricacies are programmed in our brains and ears, for sound to be transformed to music.
In the talk, the speaker talks about how people who need cochlear implants, lose this ability to transform sound to music. It made me sit up and think, what will my life be if I ever lose this transformative ability? Music is such an important part of my life, but do I appreciate the beautiful sense of hearing that makes it so, for me?
It gave me a renewed sense of delight in what I listen to, to caress each note with loving attention, and to let the joy of a song vibrate through my body. Let the music flow through you and make your existence special. It’s a privilege to be able to listen to a sound and interpret it as music.
Let your senses do their job well, and see what delights your surroundings hold!
TED talk referred to earlier – http://go.ted.com/IcQFbg (Charles Limb, Building The Musical Muscle)
Equipped with the five senses, Man explores the Universe around him, and calls the adventure,Science -Edwin Hubble
A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to go on a Stargazing camping trip with my 6 year old daughter.
It was a beautiful experience from the word go, but there was something else that happened that night, which has led me to hold it as surreal.
As we were gazing at the various stars in the sky, Saturn here and Mars there, the focus shifted to stars that are in our cosmic neighbourhood, but still so far that it would take us thousands of years to reach them using our current space travel capabilities. The astronomer accompanying us was speaking of the lifetimes of stars, and how a star that lives a few billion years is considered “shortlived”; and how time holds a different scale in the Universe. In the group, someone quipped – our lives are made of “Days” which are not even worth being considered as seconds on the cosmic time scale.
It hit home – we are so beautifully fragile, so shortlived, our lives are akin to brief bursts of light in the night sky – we are but moths in this vast nebulous sea of light and darkness. What a wonder it is, to be alive, to be able to contemplate this, to be able to simply partake of these pleasures? What bigger miracle are we seeking than the one we witness all around us, all the time? The Earth being in its exact spot so as to enable life, we being able to experience the world around us through our intuitive senses…just look around, we are living miracles. Our world is a miracle, and our lives are the stuff of angel song. Ask yourselves the question that the Ancient One asks Stephen Strange (the title of this write-up), and come up with your answers!
Flutter your wings, go dangerously close to the light – it will not matter, as long as you have lived deeply!
Now, isn’t that delightful?
“We are an impossibility in an impossible Universe” – Ray Bradbury
There are few things that give more joy than a gift given or received.
And sometimes, gifts arrive at a moment so appropriate, that your heart gives a little sigh of sheer contentment and your spine tingles with the excitement that you perhaps felt last when you were two years old.
One such delight was a gift that I received two weeks ago. Now, anyone who knows me, knows that I am a Tea / Coffee lover. If these two were ever to be declared contraband, I would probably even turn into a smuggler in their obsession.
It was a hard time for me, personally, and there were things that were overwhelming me and making me feel out of control of my life. One such evening, when I walked in after a long, grueling day, a beautiful box awaited me at my study desk. All exhaustion forgotten, I tore at the packaging as eagerly as a foraging mouse, and what should I find – but a lovely collection of exotic Teas packaged so magnificently, my senses did a little pirouette. My closest friend had sent this gift, and in that moment I was replete with gratitude not only for the gift itself, but for her presence in my life and the opportune moment at which the gift arrived.
I felt the Universe truly knows what we need, and sends little moments of Joy packaged as delightfully as that box sitting on my desk that evening. I can still feel the grace and peace coursing through me as I write this.
I hope, like me, you too find your package of Delight on a day that you least expect it, and most need it!
My Box of Delight!
For it is in Giving, that we receive – St.Francis of Assisi.
When did you last feel Wonder? Enchantment? When did you last feel a rush as you contemplated life? If you are anything like me, chances are, you need to consciously make an effort to feel these emotions and often, days go by before you feel anything resembling these.
I have been using apps since quite some time to inculcate this sense of wonder, gratitude, bliss in myself – and I group all of this under one beautiful word – “Delight”.
This blog is my endeavour to bring that Delight to you, in small, bite sized pieces. It can be a lovely word, a unique experience, a sudden rush that a gorgeous colour can cause, a thoughtful interaction with someone – the opportunities for true Delight are endless, if only we are willing to open our eyes to them.
Come, let us get Delighted together!
The Soul of Sweet Delight, can never be defiled – William Blake.
The Delight Site 