It was a fine summer morning. Aiden and I were sitting in our little hut overlooking the open forest. We balked in the warm sun filtering through the growing canopy of young trees. Quite the nature lover, Aiden was lost in observing things around him. His lips arched in a wondrous smile as he shared,

‘It’s fascinating!’

‘Just how there is so much life happening right within a hand-span of earth! There’s all these tiny creatures busy with their own lives. Things we would never notice if chose to not pay attention. And then there are creatures we can’t even see with our naked eyes, but as alive as anything else around.’

‘Fascinating indeed! Awareness is such a gift’ I replied.

‘And the possibility of raising our awareness even further. Another gift in itself!’ he said feeling the earth with his fingers.

As his eyes scanned further, he spotted an injured worm struggling to crawl to safety. He sat meditatively, wondering…

He turned to me and asked, ‘Sometimes you wonder what to do in such situations. Whether to interfere with nature or just let it be.’

His hands still caressing the earth around the injured worm.

There was silence.

I poured a couple of glasses of hot tea from my flask and proffered one to him.

‘Aiden, WE ARE nature. And so is our decision to act.’

He smiled as he accepted the cup. He picked up the worm gently with his fingers and left it at a safe spot to recover.

With cups in our hands and smiles on our faces, we, two beings of nature, savoured nature…