This seems to be a standard question for everyone. The change of seasons took a special meaning for me, once I moved to North Central United States. In India there seemed to be like 2 seasons - the rains and the summer. Yes, there might have been a brief 2 weeks of winter, but mostly I never noticed much the change in seasons, except perhaps the rainy season which would be a welcome relief when it began but would soon morph into something of a nuisance when it got out of hand.
But moving to the United States changed all that for me. Especially when I started to live in Chicago, I was subjected to the most intense change of seasons. There was a song from a movie, I cannot quite remember the title of that went something like - "Pathjhad, saawan, basant, bahaar, ek baras me mausam chaar, mausam chaar" (There are 4 seasons in a year - Fall, Rains, Spring, Summer - though basant and bahaar mean spring, I am sure that is what the poet meant). I got to experience this full throttle here but instead of the "paanchwa mausam pyaar ka, intezaar ka" (fifth season is of love and waiting), the fifth and the most dominant season here happens to be winter which is just starting out here and is expected to last for the next 6 months at the least before we spring into bahaar!
So having experienced these seasons for more than 2 decades now, I was thinking to myself which season do I like the most? Which season would I most associate myself and look forward to? I pondered as I started out of the window because sometimes in Chicago it feels like you are subjected to all the seasons in a matter of days. Starts of being warm and sunny like summer, then goes on to become a little chilly like Spring, followed by even more cold with leaves blowing around like Fall and then of course the layer of snow on the ground and before you know it, the rain starts like today. As you can see, I was not exaggerating. In fact there is a joke that goes around here that says in Chicago you could experience all the seasons in a day. While I do agree with that to an extent (at least 50% of the seasons in a day), I will let that pass.
In a nutshell, I meant that I have experienced almost all fo these seasons in the past few days. The view from. my window is quite something. There is a brook in front surrounded by trees, some ever greens (that give the feeling of spring) and other bare ones (from the fall). The best part is that I can see the sunset from this window. The sunset also changes according to the seasons.
During the summer season (4 days ago), I was greeted in the morning by a bright sun that streamed sunlight into my cozy home warming everything it fell on and especially my heart. The sun reflected off the waves in the placid lake whose tiny waves shimmered and danced like silver beads. The ebb and flow of the water, bringing together the sun's rays like glass and then shattering it into a million little pieces of light. The play of sun in the water, I watched all day long as the trees basked in the glorious morning followed by a warm afternoon and finally the time I wait holding my breath for- the sunset. The sky took on different colors of a painters palette, as everything condensed into a stillness of space and time that enveloped my being. The calm and peace I feel when I watch the sun and its surrounding which encompasses the while sky, change colors as it goes from a brightly shining star to a ball of fire is simply mesmerizing. The orange hues around it make the blue sky appear purple, red, orange, yellow and all the shades in between. All I can do is stare out of the window and thank Allah SWT for blessing me with such a perfect moment as I watch the sun descend into the waters and disappear with the last ray, another day of life just having passed without me being hungry, homeless or uneducated. Everything and more to be grateful for! Surely, summer is my most favorite season?
Through the night, I felt the winds picking up speed a little and the temperature coming down. I could feel the spring in the air as I get up next morning to be greeted by the same bright sun tempered down by the coolness in the wind. "Jaise Sardi ki dhoop" (Like Winter's Sun) sang Anil Kapoor, 25 years ago to Manisha Koirala! One could be deceived into thinking that it is yet another summer day only to go out into the balcony and realize that is a day for a sweater! The evergreens reflect the sun in the green of their leaves which seems to be now glistening with a bright hue. Just like the early days of Spring when the trees are bursting forth with sprouts. I could almost feel the tree in front ready to do just that as I watch the nodes with their last bit of green remaining. Spring promises to be an awesome season and just this slight peek is giving me the hope for the future. That one day I will see this Tree Blossom, that one day I might not be able to have that clear a view of the sunset because it would be blocked by the leaves on the trees. But for now I enjoy the sunset as I get a clear view between the bare branches of the tree. The temperature getting distinctly colder as it wins over the day and the sun sets deciding to fight the battle another day as it finds the earth going farther and farther away from it. The onset of winter seems ominous! Spring seems like the obvious favorite, right?
The wind picks up speed during the night and I could feel it whooshing away, trying to make its way into my home with continuous run-ins at the glass doors and windows. The skies are a little grey in the morning with the winds carrying them around fast and everything is blowing outside. The trees are swaying, like a vigorous dance to shake away all the remnants of a past life. The birds are trying to hold on to dear life as they pick the last berries from the trees. The water seems to be going with the flow of the wind as the waves get bigger and faster. The majestic sun tries to make an appearance but is kept in check by the darkening clouds. He does manage to peek here and there and I catch glimpses of bright sunlight streaming, making everything in my home also golden. I can't wait for the sunset and it does come once again glorious in its colors and breathtaking in its appearance. Even the wind pauses its march to take a breath as I take in the marvelous scene before me. There are more colors than my eye can distinguish. Every hue of every color possible. Surely, such perfection can be achieved by Mother Nature only. I watch as a perfect fall day ends and everything around me stands bare with the last vestiges of pride taken away - but there is a humility in that arrogance. Like they are resigned to fate and accept it graciously. That they will wait out the season patiently to come back stronger and with more power just like the wind does once it realizes that the day is complete! Or is it Fall?
The temperature drops significantly that night and the next day I am greeted with a dusting of snow on the ground, trees, the grass and the cars. A fine layer of white powder it looks like that makes everything look unadulterated and pure. The skies are bright as the sun starts its ascend. I could feel the snow starting to disperse with the rays of sunlight. They hold on for a while though. The tree branches are layered with the snow like a white outline on the dark branches. Its a slight to behold, like someone took a pencil and sketched in white over them. A bird has walked on the snow on the balcony and its dainty foot steps gladden my soul. I see the geese flying low as they wail a little because they have not been able to migrate and they know that their life is going to be tough in the months to follow. But they are brave souls who don't seem to mind that much and are intent on enjoying what remains of the warmth as they swim clearing the dusting of white snow on the waves. How easily they navigate the coldness of the water, the chill of the air - their home is the outside and they don't mind. They are together as a family encouraging each other and staying together as they navigate the vicissitudes of life ahead. It would be a joy to watch them as they overcome the challenge together, staying in the warmth of my home looking out of the window! By the time the sunset approaches, all the snow has been wiped off the face of the earth. All that remains is that slight chill in the air and of course the spectacular colors in the sky. I see everyone around resigning to fate and trying to get cozy and warm. Could it be winter?
Next morning, I get up to grey skies. There is no chance for the sun to even give a slight peak. The only evidence one gets of its presence is the light and a few bright spots on where it could be positioned behind the clouds. As the day passes, even that evidence is lost and if it were not for the clock, one would think the sunset was right around the corner. The rain comes down from time and time and then stops for a while. It has a mind of its own. The pitter patter of the rain drops gives me a sense of peace. I love the sound of water and the sound or rain is especially pleasing. Small droplets form on the window panes and makes zig zag lines as they find their way to the earth. The trees are dripping wet and seem to be trying their best to get rid of the water on their branches. Life sustaining water becomes too much to handle - just like everything else in life. Even too much of a good thing can lead to disaster. I find the falling of the raindrops on the lake comforting, like the closing of a circle. Water coming back to where it originated from. Joining a waterbody and becoming a part of it. Loosing its individuality but not its character. Adding itself to a vastness that encompasses the whole universe. One day for us to be the same, being returned to our place in the cosmos. Becoming one with the world around us. There is no sunset to watch today, the skies just keep getting darker and darker. There is a brief display of very subdued colors before everything merges into one color - the trees, the skies, the lake and everything in between. From a burst of different colors to all coming together as if they are all connected together - the living and the non-living, adding me to the mix. Surely, its the rainy season that beats all?
I feel like every season is my favorite season. The good, the bad and the ugly. Just the fact that I am alive, and well to experience them from the porch of my home makes every season a favorite season and every day the best day of my life till that point in time because I am alive to capture the beauty of it. I am the season. I become one with each changing season. I change, my perception changes. I continue to be awed by Allah's creations - the subtle changes, the mighty difference - but still everything falling into an easy pattern - a rhythm, a frequency that I try hard to vibrate with. I cannot get myself to choose one over the other. Everything is just so perfect, Alhumdulillah.
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