Elixir of Life

"Live. So that when your children think of caring, fairness and integrity, they think of you."- Jackson Brown Jr.
A "father" as the emotions point,  nurtures  his children  in such a way that , in their every step they idealise him.

As a father, Atticus Finch (from "to kill a mockingbird") treated his children as adults, when he answered any question they had, while keeping in mind, that they were free to make mistakes as children.

So , what is it like, to be a father? Does he have to be a stern, disciplined and a high tempered figure that a child looks up to him with fear? That's not entirely true. On the contrary, a father is the guiding light. A muse who shapes the future in a rightful way. To a child, his first idol, hero, is his own father. He is the soldier, a brave , emotion controlled protector, who is willing to sacrifice everything and anything just to see a smile on the child's face.  

                         The other day, I had a peculiar ornithological experience , that made me understand, that fatherhood, is not at all limited to the human species. A singing bird ,was laying her egg in the nest, on a wavering branch of a tree. A bird , in general, needs to hatch the egg while literally freezing in one position, while facing every type of challenges in the world. The winds gushed around it, the rains poured, the tree swayed and another time, the heat of the sun, torched it. But the confidence of the bird was to be admired. Then , another look around, caught my attention . The partner male bird was sitting on the next slender branch of that tree, fighting the natural turbulence! The vibe of confidence of the female bird, became quite clear to me then. 

                           A father is a silent supporter, whose importance is rarely realized unless he is gone.

 He is the one who enlightens the child to the world and  the dark side. That is the toughest job which he does ,with such an ease or maybe whilst hiding the pain. 

He is the one who stands awake, guarding, when the children sleep cozily, dreaming .

He is the one who opens the locked doors when his child is trapped in the endless, dark maze of life. 

He is the one whose heart unknowingly skips a beat, when the child hurts or gets hurt. 

He is the one who surfaces no emotions, when his heart is being gradually torn apart. 

He is the one who holds the child upto the world when he himself is crumbling to pieces without succumbing to pain. 

He goes through every emotion seeing his baby grow into a man, his own reflection. The first cry of the baby, fills his heart with immense joy. The first word and the first fight gives him a peaceful gratifaction, The first graduation, inflates his chest with pride. The first salary, makes him content and happy with the fruit of his struggle and perhaps, signs of his retirement. He then knows, that his toiling was worth it. 

                        

The influence of a father, on his children, cannot be underestimated. Although, being the Godfather, Vito Corleone, tried hard to keep his children away from the crime world, when Michael, his good, wise son, took over his bussiness and proved to be his own  reflection. 

                                                                

My elixir of life,

who alertly, never blinks an eye,

when the world is on a strife.

To me, he is my pave,

a ray of strength ,

when I return to my cave.

The guiding light that never dims,

A torch that in the darkness always rims.

I would collapse without you,

for, you are my support, 

a cornerstone amongst a few. 

I won't fear of the death,

a constant dangling knife,

because, Father, you are the Elixir of my life. 

An Incantatory Call

The steep, rocky, dry, snow-clad, heartless mountains in Leh seemed to take a toll on my soul (technically, my airway). The icy dryness was cracking my core. The trip to the north was failing to soothe me. Instead, I was looking for some warmth, to help me go on.

As I was about to kneel down before this nature's peaking cruelty, a little school boy walked  across me, humming a slow tune. Suddenly, the tune mesmerized me! My blood deprived heart, now began to flood suddenly with emotions. Joy, relaxation, admiration , inspiration gushed their way into me. The seemingly everlasting drought, had finally come to an end! Finally, I was a human again- with flesh and blood. "Did a simple tune turn my world upside down?" I wondered. "or was it the hypoxemia talking?"  At that time, the latter opinion seemed to be believable. So I stuck with it.

Next day, as I entered a Tibetian monastery, the tune was everywhere around me. Later, it struck me that the "tune" was in reality, the "religious hymn" of the people!  After that, a mild humming or loud chants started having a calming effect on me. It was an extraordinary religious experience for me, as I humanly felt closer to God. A realization dawned upon me that, a simple thing can have such a quick impact on somebody. The new peacefulness was developing its roots inside me. The world was suddenly a better place, the best in fact.

The contentness knew no bounds. All the goals, ambitions, greed were crushed, for a moment, under this huge rock of solitude. My family thought I had turned my way to spirituality or worse- exorcism! But this was something else. I have not yet found a correct word to express it. But I can only say that, for me, the time stood still. 

                     As I was hastily browsing a shop , I came across a dusty rack covered with cobwebs. On keenly observing, there it was! Peacfully lying in the rust - the record of my "inner call". The search was over. Mission accomplished.