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the tree

12/17/2020

22 Comments

 
Picture
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I don’t understand why it happens, but it happens all the time, to all of us. The world is full of things, yet, for no reason, some things become special. It has happened to me so many times.
 
While watching a soft and majestic snow fall, where fluffy flakes were floating around, suddenly one snowflake became special to me, as if there is a deep connection somewhere. When it ultimately reached the ground and got lost among the whiteness, I could feel a distinct sense of loss.
 
It happened with a leaf on an autumnal tree on a windy day, just before it blew away.
 
And it happened with people.
 
Out of thousands of similar things, one becomes special. A connection is made, a sacred connection.
 
This year, as the pandemic forced us to become homebound, I started to take long walks along the lake shore. It is a beautiful walk, among thousands of trees. Yet, one day a young nondescript tree caught my eyes. It seemed special to me.
 
Over the next nine months, I would pull out my phone and take pictures of it. Perhaps for a similar reason why people take unremarkable pictures of their children. I never looked back at those pictures, but it was probably my way of admiting my attachment. To give it a special status.
 
Now that the year is coming to its end, I thought of gathering these images together. Covid is still raging, but there is the dream of a vaccine. Next year will be different, but I will remember 2020 through these pictures. Like an adolescent summer love.

I must quote again my favorite passage from The Little Prince --

​"My life is very monotonous," the fox said. "I hunt chickens; men hunt me. All the chickens are just alike, and all the men are just alike. And, in consequence, I am a little bored. But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the colour of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat..."

Eventually, the Little Prince did tame the fox. When the time came for the prince to leave, the fox said --

"Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
"What is essential is invisible to the eye," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.
"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."
"It is the time I have wasted for my rose--" said the little prince, so that he would be sure to remember.

22 Comments
Soumya Chakravarti
12/19/2020 01:17:29 pm

What a wonderful piece! The photos, the writing and the quotes all together. The whole thing is so magical, so simple and so poignant. Thank you for sharing, Kunal. Best wishes for the new year.

Reply
Kunal Sen
1/2/2021 07:03:00 pm

Thank you. Yes, it started as a small tree, but became magical in the end. I don't like the term "spiritual", but it is probably something like this.

Reply
Sanghita Sen
12/19/2020 01:27:06 pm

How poetic your reflection is. Thank you for treating an ordinary tree feel special amd thank you for sharing these beautiful thoughts. Deeply touched, dear Kunal da.

Reply
Kunal Sen
1/2/2021 07:04:02 pm

I am happy that it touched you. Thank you.

Reply
Cynthia R Weiss link
12/19/2020 02:11:47 pm

Thank you Kunal. These images and words from the heart are just the thing I needed to pick up my spirits today. Stay safe, be well, and keep noticing and sharing the small, but essential things in life.

Reply
Kunal Sen
1/2/2021 07:04:50 pm

Thank you, Cynthia. Hope to see you again sometime this year

Reply
Rochona
12/19/2020 05:27:12 pm

A beautiful thought piece. Thank you and happy new year.

Reply
Kunal Sen
1/2/2021 07:06:06 pm

Thank you, Rochona

Reply
Shailen Ruparel
12/19/2020 08:08:25 pm

Yes, some things become special without knowing why - these could be trees, plants, pets or people.

Reply
Kunal Sen
1/2/2021 07:06:36 pm

Thank you, Shailen

Reply
Munna
12/19/2020 10:16:44 pm

A very poignant piece of writing....it stirs up a lot of emotions.

Reply
Kunal Sen
1/2/2021 07:07:11 pm

Thanks, Munna

Reply
Isha
12/20/2020 04:44:37 pm

Lovely pictures and observations!

Reply
Kunal Sen
1/2/2021 07:07:31 pm

Thanks, Isha

Reply
Lydia W
12/22/2020 07:43:58 am

The pictures and words gave me the experience of going back to an art museum. I missed the tranquility and the unique connection. It touched my heart.
Thank you, Kunal. I’m so happy to have you as a friend and always get inspired by your thoughts and creations.
Best wishes to you and Nisha in the new year!

Reply
Kunal Sen
1/2/2021 07:11:03 pm

That's wonderful to hear, Lydia.
I feel the same way about you, and happy that we met.

Reply
Saurin Mehta
12/22/2020 04:48:46 pm

What a beautiful piece and memoir to remember the year.

Reply
Kunal Sen
1/2/2021 07:11:37 pm

Thank you, Saurin.

Reply
Aaron Rodgers
1/4/2021 09:55:52 am

Gorgeous! This all speaks to me beautifully. I often have these moments of meaning, when something, right here, right now, seems perfect. I feel this urge to grasp the scene and clutch the moment. But we can only hold them with an open hand, and then like a butterfly, they float away.

As we move into 2021, I will aim to see with the heart. Thank you, Kunal.

Reply
Kunal Sen
1/7/2021 08:42:58 am

Beautifully put, Aaron. Thank you...

Reply
Gloria K
1/6/2021 03:33:20 am

Heartwarming Kunal!

Reply
Kunal Sen
1/7/2021 08:43:22 am

Thank you, Gloria!

Reply



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