THE HEALING BREAK

The stress and strain and the daily drudgery were wearing me down. I realized that somewhere, I had lost myself, and the ability to think rationally. I recognized I was ready for an overhauling!
On the eve of diwali, the festival that ushers in all that is new and auspicious, I decided to head out of the city to a quiet resort. I know there were questions in my friends’ minds; on diwali day, you would not be at home? Don’t you have to greet your friends and relatives, do the usual things that are normally done on a diwali day, so that you fall in with the age old customs and systems?
But I was in a state of mind that entertained no such questions. I was no longer available for receiving advice from anybody. I was ready to ‘do the new’! I was tired, both in body and mind and wanted a break.
I checked in at the resort, about an hour’s drive from the city I lived, and was just in time to catch the sunset. Even as I checked in at the counter, I could feel my nerves untangling… the sweet smell of the jasmine garland that I was welcomed with was heady to my olfactory senses, and the small roll of wet tissue offered by a smiling receptionist cleansed more than just the grime collected on the drive. I was tuned in to the atmosphere, even before I walked to the beach.
The twilight was serene. The beach was deserted and I did what I had wanted to do for a very long time in my life; sit under a coconut palm very close to the water and stare through the leaves at the stars while the waves played music for me. It was therapeutic; and I realized how much I had missed just living. I had let matters that did not really matter that much, take on gigantic proportions in my life, and had missed out on such beautiful moments that were simply in tune with nature.
It is so very easy to lose our perspectives when we are into an issue, so much so that we even are unable to find our normal insight into affairs of the world. We get caught up in matters of consequence, and we are no longer able to sift the chaff from the grain.
Can we all treat ourselves to such bountiful, available therapy time and again? For I believe there is no better doctor, therapist or counselor than nature. She is there available for each one of us, for when in tune with her, the doctor, the healer or the therapist that is there in each one of us awakens and comes alive. Life is no longer a burden. The expense of the resort does not matter anymore; it is what you get in return that more than makes up for the expensive service or the money you dish out.
I am at peace today. At peace and relaxed and completely unwound. I hope to carry this over the next couple of days too, and when I do drive back, I hope I am carrying this extra luggage! This gift of serenity that I have borrowed from nature, till such time that the cloud of daily living coats it with its dust, is one luggage I won’t mind paying extra for!
Mohana Narayanan