Chapter 5 Seeing and Finding Good Everywhere.
I am opening my eyes, and remembering that this is Sunday, I jump off the bed and say a short prayer, thanking God for another new day. As usual, I promise myself to enjoy and utilise fully every minute ahead of me. I dash out to the balcony. The black sky is turning blue; the moon and stars are growing dim and fading. In the East, there is a silvery glow, gradually turning gold. Every dawn is a miracle. Now the treetops are gleaming with some kind of copper and gold. Ssssh, it is the Magpie Robin; such a pleasing melody! Sounds like he is saying: Morning has broken, like the first morning... Now, what is that short flute-like whistle? It must be the Iora bird. I am extending my neck to find it. There it is, on that coconut tree, the lemon-green Iora! I am doing a bit of stretching exercise, taking in a lung-full of refreshing oxygen, superb. Now the trees are showing off their lush green. There is the dawn chorus, but the dew still blankets the grass.
I am turning on the soothing warm shower. Wow! 10 times better than the well-water I had when I was a child, and 100 times better than no shower at all - as in some parts of the world. I am lucky and grateful.
These Reebok shoes feel good, no wonder they are so popular, and matched to these white shorts, I get a glimpse of a made-believe tennis champion as I passed the glass door. I am walking on, with the binoculars slinging down my chest, enjoying every breath of fresh morning air, and stopping to admire the dewdrops on the tips of the sprouting, needle-like, dwarf bamboo leaves. I used to pluck them for my mothers herbal tea when I was a child. Two Magpie Robins are still dueting beautifully in the distance. The hedge of Morning-Glory flowers, arent they pretty! A couple of children-spiders are already weaving their web, what geometry and intriguing sight!
Soon I arrive at the Reservoir Park, surrounding a small freshwater lake. The different palm trees in Malaysia are a sight to behold, and one species is so aesthetic that it becomes my great favourite. The red and yellow Canna flowers, the Hibiscuses, and the tree-tops in green, garnet and gold and others with flaming-red blossom drown me in euphoria. Look at those elegant, giant Lily-lotus on the water, straight out of a Chinese fairy-tale! I can see a few fishes loitering around. Someone has started feeding the fishes! He throws some bread, and hundreds of Gouramis, Carps, and Tilapias rise obediently from nowhere to scuffle for dinner.
My morning walk brings me to the edge of a tropical rain-forest. I tickle the touch-me-nots with the tip of my shoe and they surrender like a row of falling dominoes! The grasshoppers are hopping ahead of me, like gazelles fleeing the lions. I am following an old footpath into the forest, lest I lose my way. There stands the good old rubber tree, whose latex cushions my car wheels; and whose rubber-wood is fast becoming popular and expensive these days. The different shapes, sizes and colours of the trees and shrubs are truly fascinating, I would stay here all day, if I could, and plan the start-up of a lucrative plants and nursery business. Here is a rattan tree, whose canes subdued me in school; now they make excellent furniture. Other trees have barks that resemble the skin of a dragons and dinosaurs. I am lucky to run into the white Dendrobium „pigeon orchid here. Even though they are common tree-parasites in this country, they only bloom twice a year. The blossom resembles white dancing ballerinas to me! I also see many perfect Y-shape twigs; coupled with elastics they make excellent catapults for squirrels, and for David, against the Goliath, but in these days of Green Peace and vanishing species...forget it. I do not mind the mosquitoes here; next time I will bring a net and round them up, to feed my aquarium fish. Hey, look at those mosquito larvae in a hollow of clear water; they are doing incredible gymnastics as they rise and fall! There are a few genteel dragonflies here, did you know that their fossils were even found in rocks 260 million years old? A yellow butterfly is fluttering around me, so carefree and delightful.
Shall I sit here and watch the fat bamboo shoots grow, to a reputed 6 inches a day? Fast enough to give a feast for giant Pandas; or shall I watch the famous Pitcher Plants, deceiving and digesting insects with their cups? They say plants have emotions and telepathy, and they grow better with human affection. Some feed on insects and a few even feed on each other! They are all here, we just didnt notice them before! Let me see what my binoculars can find here. A green pigeon is leaving speedily from a crude nest of sticks. What is that sharp chippy sound up there? Oh, it is the Crimson Sunbird, with a splendid red top and black bottom. I would pay hundreds of dollars to keep a bird like that. Look at that! Isnt that the all-black racquet-tailed Drongo on the tree top? It is! Oh, those long twin tails, what a prize; an acrobat for my aviary. Whisk... an orange-bellied squirrel races across the branches. Fluff, something flies off the ground like an owl or Nightjar. Let me see if he has left half a mouse behind. What have we got here? 2 balls of cotton wool. Gee whiz! They are warm and alive, with little eyes, beaks and feet, the babies of the Nightjar bird! I will be kind and leave them here to grow and flourish.
There is something lurking around behind the trees, near the little river ahead of me. Let me sit still with my binoculars. Here it comes, my goodness, a bird with a blue beak, in red, black and white. It must be the Black-and-Red Broadbill. Gosh, it enters a heap of grass and rubbish hanging above the river bank. Could that be the nest? I am „stealing towards the river bank. The bird tears out of the bundle! It must have heard me coming. Yes, it is a nest! I can touch the eggs. They are still warm! Now, I will sit and calm down from the excitement. The little river is still; a couple of pointed Half-Beak Fish are skimming the surface. Look, there is an Archer Fish, in silent ambush behind some fallen leaves. I want to see how it spits at a fly... Hard luck. I have been sitting, waiting for 15 minutes, but the archer fish cannot spot a fly to work on. There is much serenity, and fresh air here; it would be nice to build a tree-house. Anyway, I will start finding my way back now.
I am on my way home, and I am stooping down to examine a pile of freshwater stones left behind by some builders. They are of such appealing shapes, texture and colours. Maroon, peach, white, russet, and charcoal. I am picking a few to beautify my aquarium.
Here I am, lying in the foam bath, in total relaxation and with a smirk on my face. Im now blowing bubbles with a straw! I can see my smile in the bubbles, washed in rainbow colours of the soapy, sparkling jewels.
Soon I find myself in the middle of a giant Malaysian Sunday market. This is really a melting pot of Malays, Chinese, Indians, Portuguese, natives, and western cultures. Two hundred different cakes, buns, pies, dimsums are dazzling me. Mouth-watering Peking ducks, roasted chicken and barbecued pork are glistening and fuming with succulence, and satay-kebabs are sizzling deliciously above the hot charcoal. The aroma of durians, mangoes, pineapples, jack fruits, star fruits, breadfruits, papayas, rambutans, melons, pomelos, sour-sops, mangosteens, lychees, longans, banana fritters, and not forgetting the cool, clean, sweet soft flesh of the young coconut; they are mind-boogling and they salivate my tongue. I am sorry, I have to impose a communication blackout here and excuse myself, the food is too tempting for me.
That was delicious. Now let us view the pets corner. My kids used to stamp their feet here and refused to leave until I bought something. Look, there is a mouse deer and a falconet for sale. There are lovely orchids and white-haired cactuses; little hanging green parrots, red-cheek Cockatiels, smiling love-birds, and the most beautiful of all, the Gouldian Finch, in purple, yellow, emerald, red and green. Watch the sparkle from the Golden Gourami, the Jewel Red Cichlids, the Cardinals and Neon Tetras!
After a game of tennis and an early supper, here I am at the beach, mesmerised by the charm of the dreamlike sunset, featured in pink, peach, violet and gold. The white breakers lap and kiss the shore in endless rhythm, as distant sailboats glide across the horizon. There couldnt be a happier sight than children romping near the sea. The far-away mountains bring reminiscence of misty waterfalls, babbling streams, fairy coves and islands. The variety of sea shells impresses me, in many shapes, sizes, spots and spikes!
The hypnotising colours of twilight are ever-changing. I am eager to return to practise the piano. While Im here, I might as well catch a few grasshoppers for my melodious Pekin Robins, frolicking in my aviary. It is so easy, the grasshoppers are so blinded by my torch light, that I pick them off the grass effortlessly. Within minutes, I have a dozen insects in my plastic bag! Look here, I just caught a little Wren-Warbler dozing off on a reed leaf! I am letting the terrified bird go. Some frogs are croaking, having a great party nearby. I am shining the torch into the ditch, and catching sight of a few funny tadpoles - frog babies with emerging legs and shrinking tails! There is a weird little spider, in a leaf on the water, with an insect in its claws. Look, a few fruit-bats are dancing above me!
If the world around you is still not enough, get your science teacher to show you the microscope one day, and what you will see will stun you! Anyway, I have enjoyed every minute today, and I am so contented. Theres so much to see, so much to live for. Besides, life is passing and precious, let us relish every little moment of the day, and make continuous progress. It would be sad, if we were to leave this earth at 80, without seeing, experiencing, loving and giving much. Resourceful and observant people see a lot that others miss. They have time to watch and wonder, to feel the breeze and the suns warm embrace. You must train your eyes and cultivate awareness, and experience the many wonders around you, which you forgot or were too busy to observe and cherish. You must exploit your inner and worldly resources fully. That is why there are great people who, despite solitary confinement, read and wrote books in jail and even acquired university degrees! Let nothing hinder or handicap you, see and find good everywhere.
"The measure of mental health is the disposition to find good everywhere."Emerson.
"I'm absorbed in the wonder of earth and the life upon it." - P. Buck.
"For a child, the world is a wonderful place, endlessly exciting, full of magic. You grow older and tend to forget that the world is a wonderful place, still full of magic if you have eyes to see it." - A. Koran.
"Many an object is not seen, though it falls within the range of our visual ray, because it does not come within the range of our intellectual ray." - H. D. Thoreau.
"How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank! Here will we sit and let the sound of music creep in our ears; soft stillness and the night become the touches of sweet harmony." - Shakespeare.
"Go to the places that you've never been, see all the people that you've never seen, do all the things that you do in your dreams, and you'll find it's a wonderful life." Sir Cliff Richard, in the movie Wonderful Life.