Another Day

By Anaia Suvarna

Sometimes, we get overwhelmed with emotions. A barrage of feelings that are too much to express. Then our only way out, our only way to express ourselves, is to show our feelings. When we get happy, we burst out into laughter, laugh lines creasing our faces like sunshine peeking through a curtain. When we get sad, we cry. Tears stream down our faces like the last drops of water trickling down a parched stream. And when we get angry, we rage. We shout, throw pillows, hit walls; anything to release that pent up burden of fury. And I can say, from personal experience, that it works too.

But have you thought about how we aren’t the only ones who express our emotions this way? The source of inspiration of our habits, the muse for our actions, is nothing but nature. You can prefer to think of nature as a thing. But I, on the other hand, see the vitality and humanness of nature in the way it grieves and celebrates. Nature is no different than all of us.

Nature rages too. Sometimes, we can see lightning arc across the sky at night, beautiful balls of purple coalescing and sputtering. For a split second, it illuminates the sky with a terrifying jolt of ghost-white fury. Then comes the thunder. The deafening crack that can rattle windows and induce fear and awe at the same time. I don’t see this as a geographical occurrence; I see this as a display of anger. When nature truly lets go to bare its teeth at the world.

Then there is the grief, inescapable and all-encompassing. Nature manifests its sadness in the most tragic disasters known to mankind- tsunamis. Everybody has experienced waves of sadness washing over us. Except, nature unleashes its grief in literal waves- monstrous amounts of water that rear up like a neighing horse. They grow higher and higher, grief turning into desperation. Until, finally, it reaches the breaking point and collapses. Huge rushes of water gallop towards land, swallowing all in their path. Just how sadness blinds you to every ounce of common sense and renders you helpless to stop. I don’t see it as a flaw in nature- I se it as a lesson. Don’t let your emotions overcome you, because you may not be aware of their repercussions on others. Nature, as they say, is the best of teachers.

And then, leaving behind sadness and anger, there is boundless happiness. What other occasion displays nature's happiness better than sunsets? Like a tiny spark of hope, the sun gleams joyfully, as though commemorating the end of a day. But the colours- the colours are what truly display elation. The sky bursts into a panorama of shades as the sun inches lower. The fiery red and orange of passion and determination. The swaths of purple and pink that dance across the sky in exhilaration. Nature plays the painter, the sky its canvas, with a palette of colours too vibrant and ethereal to be real. This is the stuff miracles are made of. And right in the center of it all, the source of joy, is the sun. It glows like an orb, radiating light softly, unlike its harsh noon counterpart. From the sun spread the colours. They are paint strokes strewn recklessly across the sky, yet looking like a masterpiece. Sort of like a reminder of how anything we do with dedication and happiness will always turn out beautiful . No matter the imperfections; those tiny flaws are what truly make it human and relatable. A perfect mess.

At last, when the sun sinks towards the horizon, threatening to disappear, the sky darkens. The colours drain out and fade into diluted hues. They still fight to stay back, stains of red and purple lingering stubbornly. However, the darkness approaches steadily and ominously. The sun struggles, hoping to resist the inky black. Like a sign of perseverance, stalking on through an endless marsh. Despite the happy ending that it deserves, the sun gets swallowed up. Darkness prevails. Or.. does it?

If you look closely, even in the utmost dark, you can see tiny specks of light. The sunlight never gave up after all. It just stayed to fight for another day. A phoenix in truth, its ashes scattered across the sky as stars, sparkling in hope and determination. Even in the night, the stars peek out through the blinds of darkness. They are nothing but the vestiges of sunlight, carrying on its legacy so it can brighten another morning. This teaches us that it is okay to lose. It is okay to fall back. It is okay to retreat just so that you can rise back again to fight the next day. Fall, but be sure to arise again. The darkness may encompass all, but it still has pinpricks of light invading it, reminding us that the light will always be there to see another day.

Well.. after all that, you could just call sunsets, thunderstorms and tsunamis “natural phenomena”. But isn’t my way much more interesting?

Inspiration for writing can come from the strangest of places, and nature is the epitome of inspiration.

Anaia

By Anaia Suvarna