Does one cherish every moment in one’s life? No, not really. One is always in a hurry and one forgets to appreciate the moment. Why is this, why are we running and what are we running to? Our moments in life are like a patchwork quilt.

Dear ones, let me share some examples with you. Baking a cake is always a wonderful activity. Before we could not see the cake rising. Now you can and it is a beautiful process, especially if you have baked the cake from scratch. Creating a cake is a quick way to get rid of sadness. One must be involved in the process and not be in a hurry. Measure the flour, strain it with baking powder and salt. Some people strain it three times. Take everything out of the fridge, let them become warm. In a bowl one adds the oil, sugar, vanilla essence, and whisk it. The fragrance of the vanilla masks everything else. The flour is added and further whisked or stirred. I will not go into the recipe but after oiling the cake tin, one places it in the oven.

I have baked all kinds of cakes for my twin sons and with inexpensive ingredients. Cutting a slice meant a wedge of cake. When they were little, it was an exercise to keep them away from the cooling cake. Now I think about the happy moment, when my sons, the cat and the dog were all looking at the cake.

The other day, I went to a bakery, and I was buying some cinnamon rolls. A young woman was purchasing a banana cake and it was really expensive. Being a curious person, I asked her why she did not bake a cake at home? Her answer was that she has no time.

It is a tragedy when we have no time to enjoy these moments like bringing the washing in after it has hung in bright sunshine. Smell the sunshine on the clothes. One time when we lived in Chennai, I saw a green snake going on the clothes line on which my sheets were hung. The snake went like a cartoon snake. Its color was bright and the sheets were white.

My father was a keen gardener and we had an English garden. He was a friend of the environment and he made earth worm manure and fertilizer from leftover food. It was a green garden and was like a haven. There were snakes, birds, mongooses and hares about. He collected cacti, and unusual plants. Since he believed in saving the environment, it meant nothing expensive or foreign, only what could be grown in the tropical climate. He grew the Pitcher Plant (a carnivorous plant) and then when it flowered, he took a photograph. I remember going to examine the flower everyday to see if it had eaten an insect. The insect would be floating in the nectar of the plant.

Think about all the wonderful moments in your life. You will be surprised that the magic moments will be more than the sad moments. Treasure them and keep them in the album of your mind. You can always take out a precious memory.

I have observed that people who have less in life are able to enjoy moments more easily. Why is this, have you stopped to consider this? Many of us are full of cares and concerns. We do not stop to smell the lavender or jasmine. When you walk under a tree, you do not inhale the smell that the tree exudes. The other day, someone came to visit TORCH, a NGO I run for kids living on the street with their parents. She had brought a spray which was made with Bergamot and Lavender. It was to be sprayed on the face and its affect was to open your heart. Of course, the eyes were to be kept closed. Its name was Angel Spray and it was made by a healer in Bavaria. The children loved it because of the fragrance. Bergamot is said to have protective and purifying properties and Lavender enables one to understand oneself better. Now we spray it on their faces every day.

Next time when you are in a garden inhale the difference fragrances around you, admire the perfection of the leaves, look up at the sky. Dear ones, you are all observant and aware, there is so much on offer. Just become absorbed in the bounty of Nature.

Aim Hrim Klim

Photo by Nagesh Badu on Unsplash