I Discovered a New Mantra

My days in Den Haag are super relaxed.  My parents live in a quiet neighbourhood.  There are forests all around our house so we frequently go for little hikes and walk through the forests when we go grocery shopping.  When I arrived the winters were in full swing.  Days were shorter and there was frost on the trees in the morning.  The surface of the little lakes in the forest would be frozen.  The weather has started to get warmer.  But as I write this it looks like this outside:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we woke up this morning everything was covered with a layer of frost.  In a couple of hours the frost disappeared and there was mist rising through the trees.  I’ve never seen this sort of thing before (at least not in real life), so I got really really really excited.

I’ve realized in the past few weeks that this is the first time since I went away to college that I’ve had so much time to spend with my parents.  That’s close to 15 years.  I’ve started to notice that there are many quirks we share despite living apart.  I’ve started to notice good as well as not so good character traits we share.  I’ve started to think a lot about the whole Nature vs Nurture debate.

Taking this time off has also helped me to appreciate things.  When we go for our daily walks through the forest I see lots of fallen trees.  And I see new shrubs growing all around them.  People carve animals out of the stumps and make picnic tables that can be used in the summer.  Similarly, life also has the ability to mould itself according to circumstances.

And I suppose that’s what life is all about.  It’s not about wishing for things to change or waiting for better times.  It’s about accepting what’s going on in life right now and working with what you’ve got.  So instead of lamenting the fact that it’s getting more and more difficult to chase the sunrise, my parents and I spend time taking photos and planning the big move back to India.

Another mantra for life.