BETWEEN REALITY AND FANTASY

~ BY KHALIL GIBRAN
    
Chapter from his book, THE VISION-  Reflections on the way of the soul...

Life has borne us from place to place, and the faces convey us from one spot to another, but we see only the obstacles that stand in our way and hear only the voice that terrifies us. Beauty manifests itself to us on the throne of it's splendor, and we draw near to it; in the name of the yearning we defile its hem and pull off it's diadem of purity. Love passes by us cloaked in a robe of kindness, but we fear it and conceal ourselves in the grottoes of darkness; or e follow it and commit outrages in its name. The wise among us construe it as a heavy yoke, but it is more delicate than the breaths of flowers and more subtle than the breezes of Lebanon. Wisdom stands at the turn in the road and calls upon us publicly, but we consider it false and despise it's adherents. Liberty summons us to its table, that we might savor it's wine and fare; so we go and make gluttons of ourselves, transforming that table into a stage for vulgarity and a scene of a self-abasement. Nature extends to us the hand of loyalty, asking from us that we delight in its comeliness; but we fear it's quietude and take refuge in the city, where we crowd in upon one another like a flock of sheep that spies a hungry wolf. Truth visits us, led by a smile of a child or a kiss of a beloved, but we slam the door of our emotions, excluding it and abandoning it like a vile criminal. The human heart appeals to us for help and the soul calls out  to us, but we are more deaf than a stone, unable to comprehend or understand. And when anyone listens to the cry of his heart and the call of his soul, we say, " That one is possessed," and we wash our hands of him.
Thus pass the nights, while we remain heedless. The days greet us, but we are frightened of both days and nights. We draw near to the earth, and gods join our company; we pass by the bread of life, and famine feasts on our faculties. How beloved life is to us, and how remote we are from life.

TREE OF LIFE

                            TREE OF LIFE: Connecting all forms of creation. ( Wikipedia)

I have always had this weird fascination with trees. And the funny thing is every place I lived was surrounded by trees, DEEP WOODED BACKYARD. The fascination with trees was not only because I lived around them, but in return I got to understand them. Sounds Funny!! I know....Nature is an amazing source of life to Human Beings. I just get amazed by people who do not regard them in any way. Trees not only have been around too long to tell a story but they are quite often remembered in philosophical, mythological and in religious aspects. Human beings are under mercy of nature, whether we realized or not. I think nature does for us more than we do for them. I am not a tree hugger per se, but I value in it's very existence. They say the power of nature is visible to those who are in harmony and in balance with nature.

Every Tree has an event or occurrence that has left an impression on it. They have battled change in their own environment - I guess they were better off left untouched, until civilization began and nature since then had to keep up. Sometimes I feel that nature is keeping up with our mistakes and keep enduring in silence.

They have battled or still battling global warming with us, sometimes Nature is the only answer, in this case the trees are the only ones that can save us from intense climate change, sadly not as much trees are conserved. Nature is an answer to a lot of our questions but we have turned in into a question itself. And we all know global warming is the result of excess greenhouse gases by human activities, fossil fuel combustion and especially DEFORESTATION. And we all know trees release oxygen into the atmosphere while absorbing CO2 from the surrounding air.

I personally get bothered when trees get cut down. In human terms, it's like firing an employee who does the most work.... I didn't know a better way to explain, but yea sort of like that... But the only difference is a chopped tree is still going to serve it's purpose and continue doing that.

 They endure every season with grace and patience. When I moved to New Jersey, I was apartment hunting, and it turned out to be a little challenging as I had specific needs. Nothing materialistic, all natural... :-). So my needs were heavily wooded backyard on the top most floor. I had to filter out some of the best apartments, only because it didn't meet my specific requirements. Finally I was able to find the most perfect place. Heavily wooded backyard on the top floor with a huge scenic door. This place had my name written all over it. And soon after I moved in, I spent many seasons by the door, looking out at the trees and we have survived a lot of seasons together. In fact we, survived hurricane Sandy in 2012. I remember all my friends were planning to survive the storm together, by sticking together under one roof. Have beers and just do fun stuff, but I decided to stay alone in my apartment, so here I was, my tripod ready, candles, charged batteries and just waiting for the storm to arrive. And wow when it did, it sure came with a full force. I tried opening the door to my balcony, and looking out , the sound of the wind getting blocked by the trees was scarily amazing. But the fact still remained, the trees were blocking the wind. Without it, I would have no balcony left....

TREE'S TO DO LIST:

- Do not forget to give shelter to any human being. ( shade from sun or resting on my trunk)

- Keep the air clean, so humans can breath.

- Provide food and not just for humans but animals and birds as well.

- Help prevent water pollution by acting like a sponge that filters water naturally. So the ocean is left un-polluted.

- Help prevent soil erosion.

- Heal humans. ( Children with ADHD have fewer symptoms when excess to nature, patients heal faster with views of trees outside their windows)

- Give a happy feeling by swaying my leaves under the sun

- Become nature's umbrella, when it rains.

TREES IN MYTHOLOGY:

Since the earliest writings and readings, trees have represented as a powerful form of nature. Every part of the globe believes it one way or the other.

In Buddhism, they have the Bodhi Tree, under which Gautam Buddha meditated and gained enlightenment.

"We are the same as plants and trees and as the rain that falls. We consist of that which is around is, we are the same as everything." ~ Buddha

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Tuba is a tree that Muslims believe grows in Islamic Heaven also called Jannah.

The holy city of Touba, Senegal is name for the tree. ( Wikipedia)

" A goodly word, is a goodly tree, whose root is firmly fixed and its branches reach to the sky"

~Ibrahim 14:24

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Tulsi in Hinduism, is a sacred Basil plant. It was believed to be an earthly manifestation of goddess Tulsi. It is also used as a medicinal plant in Ayurveda.

" There is a Banyan tree, which has its roots upward and its branches down, and the Vedic hymns are its leaves. One who know this tree is the knower of the Vedas."

~Gita

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Trees occupy a good understanding in Judaism. In Kohelet Rabbah, they have a sacred understanding  of a tree. The Midrash teaches:

" When God created the first human beings, God led them around all the other trees of the garden of Eden and said " Look at my works! See how beautiful they are. For you sake I created them all. See to it that you do not spoil and destroy my world; for if you do there will be no one to repair it."

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In Samoyedes mythology, the world tree connects different realities. In this mythology it is also believed a tree is the symbol of Mother Earth who is said to give the Samoyed Shaman  his drum and also help him travel from one world to another.

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I Greek mythology, DRYAD is a female tree spirit, It is said the Dryads and Greek Gods punished any mortals who harmed trees without  first propitiating the tree nymphs..

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So just like the saying goes... "Imagine if trees gave off WiFi signals, we would be planting so many trees, and we'd probably save the planet too. Too bad they only produce the oxygen we

breath."

SO LET'S MAKE AN EFFORT TO SAVE NATURE, TO SAVE OURSELVES......

CALL OF THE WILD- DAY 2-3

DAY 2
DESTINATION: DELAWARE WATER GAP.

                          

Day 2 early morning. Fresh air, Strong Coffee and ready to get back on the road. How exciting!! I could not keep up with my excitement, I was like a kid in a toy store. But that's the case with me all the time. So I guess my friends are used being around me, especially every time we have some adventurous trip planned. So here we were, all ready, packing up the SUV and on our way, there goes my ZEN MOMENT again !!! I could feel it coming, especially when all the eyes were staring at me.... LOL.....

Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S state of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountain....

So here we were on our back to the cabin, get a good night sleep for Day 3- Bushkill Falls. One of the most awaited.

DAY 3- BUSHKILL FALLS

Bushkill Falls is a series of eight waterfalls, the tallest of which cascades over 100 feet or so. Located in Northeast Pennsylvania's Pocono's Mountains. Beginning at the headwaters of Bushkill Creek, the water descends the mountain toward the Delaware river forming Bushkill Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Bridesmaid Falls, Laurel Glen Falls, Pennell Falls and three additional un-named Falls

40 Degree F. A cold, crisp day and surrounded by trees, river, bridges and water falls. Seriously what more can you ask.

Bushkill is one place, I get high on Nature's ecstasy. I remembered a quote from somewhere that 

 "THE HUMAN SPIRIT NEEDS PLACES WHERE NATURE HAS NOT    

BEEN RE-ARRANGED BY THE HAND OF THE MAN"

And standing at the exact spot at the time, made perfect sense.

                                                               BUSHKILL FALLS:

CALL OF THE WILD - DAY 1

MY VOICEMAIL MESSAGE:

SALONI'S VOICE MAIL GREETING: HI YOU HAVE REACHED SALONI'S VOICEMAIL, I AM UNABLE TO TAKE YOUR CALL BECAUSE I AM SOMEWHERE BLISSFUL ON A MOUNTAIN IN POCONOS, SO LEAVE ME A MESSAGE AND I WILL RETURN YOUR CALL AS SOON AS I DESCEND.

ME WHILE MY VOICE MAIL TAKING MESSAGES: 

Okay, so that was exactly my thought process, when we got to our campsite on the mountain of Poconos. It was an amazing drive from New Jersey. I spent a lot of time in the back seat of my SUV, just breathing in the air through the open window. I was going through a Zen moment. We decided the trip from Poconos to Delaware water gap into Bushkill Falls. 
                                                            
 "NATURE HOLDS THE KEY TO OUR AESTHETIC, INTELLECTUAL, COGNITIVE AND   EVEN SPIRITUAL SATISFACTION"
                                                                 
        BY E.O.WILSON

Pocono Mountains are a mountain region nestled in the Scenic Northeastern Pennsylvania. The Poconos are an upland of the larger Allegheny Plateau. It's known for it's vacation homes, camping and skiing. It's closed by the Delaware state forest, Delaware water gap, to the south by Blue ridge mountains and the famous Appalachian Trail.

 We reached the mountains and our cabin by late afternoon. The feeling was so soothing and enriching. I was thinking of making this cabin my permanent home. So while I was checking the cabin out, the rest of the gang were unloading the car, checking all the stuff needed to light the campfire, which is what we all were waiting for..... AHH, THE CAMPFIRE!!

                  As Henry David Thoreau once said,

"The fire is the main comfort of the camp, whether in summer or winter, and is about as ample at one season as at another.  It is as well for cheerfulness as for warmth and dryness."

 ~Henry David Thoreau

It was around 2 AM, when we all decided to retire for the night. We didn't want to miss out the early morning fun, but unfortunately a few of us could not wake up early in the morning as one of our friend was bombing snores all night. LOL!! So here we were still tucked in our beds and missing out the morning sunrise and birds chirping, but thankfully we were eventually able to get up and capture some amazing shots. 

WE MUST TAKE ADVENTURES IN ORDER TO KNOW WHERE WE TRULY BELONG

WINDOW SEAT EXPLORATIONS

 I have recently started snapping photos from the Airplane. In all these years of traveling, I never took advantage of it and one day I realized I should not ignore any form of nature. And that's when I fell in love with my camera. Nature deserves attention and not ignorance, It's needs to appreciated just like a painting in a museum. These are my recent travel shots and not to forget my thoughts while snapping away.

 Window seat exploration. Thank God, I finally realized I should not pull down the blinds and go to sleep. I could surely be missing one this spectacular view from above. Isn't it funny, one minute you could be relaxing by the same shore's and the next minute you are hovering over it. The ocean feels free of ideas, just flowing contently with it's power hidden secretly somewhere beneath the grounds.

The world that hovers over us, I got to capture it in my lens from the bird's eye view. This shot made me realize how small we are against nature. Floating above the clouds really puts things in perspective. It's surreal and mind boggling to feel and understand what floats about us, and despite that nature is quite and humble.

This shot is one of my favorite one. It was taken right after take off on our way back home from Punta Cana and it really had a feeling of last goodbye's. It felt like nature's last show before the curtains came down. Tried to get the last shot before the clouds cover up the land like a butterfly on a foggy night. Nature is a dictionary of every emotion, and this shot is a perfect definition of Good Bye.

TO THE MOON AND BACK

                 " I am a moon child, and have forever been inspired by the lunar energies. It is my nature.

                                        To me the poetry of the moon is the language of love".

                                                                                                 BY RUMI

“At night, I open the window and ask the moon to come and press its face against mine.
Breathe into me. Close the language-door and open the love-window.
The moon won't use the door, only the window.” 
                                                                                                 BY RUMI
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So how many of you have looked out of your window and just couldn't stop staring at the moon, OR in other terms "ADMIRED". Like 'Carl Sagan' would say "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known". I am a moon admirer, I have tried to capture a few snaps, from my lens and my telescope. And it's not just about clicking pictures, it's also learning and understanding this amazing ,enigmatic heavenly body.


These are some shots capture from my Camera and my Telescope.

CAMERA SHOTS:

 The Buddhist Scriptures:

Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water.

  The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken.

 Although its light is wide and great,

          The moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide.

           The whole moon and the entire sky

 Are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.

                                                            ~ DOGEN

 

TO THE MOON

     Art thou pale for weariness

      Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth,

          Wandering companion less

         Among the stars that have a different birth,

            And ever changing, like a Joyless eye

       That finds no object worth its constancy?

~ By Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)

                                         "The moon is a loyal companion."

 It never leaves. It’s always there, watching, steadfast, knowing us in our light and dark moments, changing forever just as we do. Every day it’s a different version of itself. Sometimes weak and wan, sometimes strong and full of light. The moon understands what it means to be human. Uncertain. Alone. Cratered by imperfections.”

~ Tahereh Mafi, Shatter Me

“Her antiquity in preceding and surviving succeeding Tellurian generations: her nocturnal predominance: her satellitic dependence: her luminary reflection:

her constancy under all her phases, rising and setting by her appointed times, waxing and waning: the forced invariability of her aspect: her indeterminate response to in affirmative interrogation:

 her potency over effluent and refluent waters: her power to enamour, to mortify, to invest with beauty, to render insane, to incite to and aid delinquency:

the tranquil inscrutability of her visage: the terribility of her isolated dominant resplendent propinquity: her omens of tempest and of calm: the stimulation of her light, her motion and her presence:

the admonition of her craters, her arid seas, her silence: her splendour, when visible: her attraction, when invisible.”