BENEATH THIS TREE!

My thoughts turn to my parents for some reason. They have gone on to the Beautiful Shores, or the Great Somewhere, or in the arms of the Wonderful One, The Eternal One or somewhere under the Tree of Life. My parents made a big and unthinkable move to uproot themselves from Cochin, India and come to a tiny Peninsula called Malaya. It is tiny by comparison - India is so vast and so ethnically vibrant. Yet they set sail on a boat from Madras and made the seven day journey through rough and unpredictable seas to this land Malaya, now called Malaysia. I don't remember them complaining about the weather or the food or the neighbors. They just settled in and enjoyed the fruits of their labour. We had Chinese, Malay and other Indian neighbors who shared their food and recipes, and so we became so entwined with the lives of others, their culture and their likes and dislikes. My parents survived and lived a good life and made this their homeland. My sisters and I were born and bred here. It takes guts and determination to make a new life in a foreign land. For this I admire and honor them, and also for the way they brought us up. As I sit under this tree, I think of the nurturing this tree receives. The tropical rain and sunshine provides almost everything it needs. This morning the rains came in a downpour that provided the showers my plants needed. While I felt happy that I did not need to lug out the hose, other thoughts now come to mind. Parents are like Mother Nature. The nurturing that they provide is enough for the growth of their offspring. The Sun comes up as I write this and shines on the still wet plants and leaves, leaving shimmering pearls that drop off into the wet grass. Our parents have left us with indelible memories and today as I think about them, I can't help feeling the connection between the nurturing of nature and the nurturing our parents provided for us children. Come rain, come shine, day in day out, and even though they are not here with us today physically, their presence is felt and appreciated. My thoughts from under a tree! This tree is a McArthur Palm, or Macarthurie as is locally known.