Falling in love again

There are few cures for the cluttered mind. If your brain cavity’s activity is as chaotic as mine, it’s nice to be able to cut down with a cup of tea.

A hobby and habit of mine is that I try to tease my taste buds with the tantalizing treat of new flavors. Thus far I’ve familiarized myself with the basics of chamomile, jasmine, rooibos, lemongrass, ginger and bergamot. 

I’d rarely read recently and picking up a pen seemed peculiar. Even teaching had felt tedious at times. In short I misplaced the passion that drove me due to a series of disappointed hopes.

On a shopping trip I visited my favourite tea trader and tasted a tester without looking at the title.

My taste buds had a tea-gasm.

A sweet scent swarmed my sinuses. The cool liquid lapped against my lips. Apple, mango, pear, pineapple and possibly passion fruit fused with a few other unknown ingredients that seemed to spark of an internal reaction that Tahera Mafi would term: “Ignite Me”.

In that cup I had a refreshing revival. Life held it’s appealing luster once more. It tasted like…falling in love again and boy, was it sumptuous!

_Quixotic Novelist

Ps: the tea I’m talking of is titled “Falling in love again” and can be purchased from the Tea Merchant. Enjoy! 

Picture perfect? What is the point?

“Should I post this on instagram?”
“Only if you want everyone to see it.”

The aforementioned audio flashback echoes in my ears every time I’m about to hit the upload arrow.

When I prompted my cousin as to what she meant by “only if you want everyone to see it”, she replied with an equally cryptic “Not everyone that seems happy truly is.”

We live in a society where it is mandatory to update your social media channels with every breath. What is the point?

All we’re doing is fashioning a facade of these fairytale-fantastic lives. Now removed the filter… not so glamorous anymore, is it?

People upload pictures and status because they want other people to see it. Why else would they do it? Had they been content they would have kept the knowledge to themselves.

Think about it, nobody broadcasts their bad hair days, their “Days of Our Lives” drama or the severity of their struggles.  We like to portray the best versions of ourselves and granted, such is the beauty of being human beings: focusing on the pleasant rather than pain. We try to post the picture perfect parts of our day but if we’re being honest a lot of the time it’s a posed shot.

The best moments are those that we do not care to capture on camera. Those memories that we treasure in private. So be happy and relish in your happiness. Post by all means but please don’t feel pressurized to publicize it or worse to falsely fabricate it.

_Quixotic Novelist

The revivifying tree

When I was fourteen I used to take pictures in trees. In retrospect I’m not sure why. Perhaps it was that the natural debris mirrored the tangled mess of my hair. Mayhap I wanted to be close to the core of the thing that allows me to express myself in writing. Maybe I simply caught good lighting amidst branches and bird nests. Whatever my fascination was with trees it faded. Five years later I find I have returned to this fixation. On my way to morning classes I would be half getting dressed and half rattling off vocabulary learnt the previous night. Tumbling in tumult I yearned for the taste of my reliable rescue remedy but alas I need to find other ways to ease my anxiety. One day I was occupied in a similar state when I felt compelled to raise my gaze. Whatever it was that caught my attention commanded a sort of silent presence. “Look at me.” She was tall and poorly postured as if someone tried to tie a stick to her spine but she had somehow managed to grow against the grain. Her limbs were lithe as her graceful form swayed gently in the wind. Her pale skin tinted by the pastel pink of her blush. She was a collection of colourful curls bouncing with voluminous motion. She would occasionally shed some of her lovely locks followed by a shake of her head as if to say “There’s plenty more where that came from!” I saw her on several occasions thereafter. The most memorable of those moments was at twilight. She glowed against the lusterless sunset which hung its head in shame and departed due to its dullness.  She became a source of solace for my ever-racing mind. I would look up at her and bask in the beauty of pure simplicity and serenity. Today I drove past with the hope of catching a glimpse at her. Instead I found myself crestfallen. Her beautiful body was bare.  Stripped of her sensuous glory. All that remained was her fragile form. I’ve never been one for maintaining Mother Nature’s children so I was struck by the strange sensation of loss and lamentation that I felt at seeing this particular tree lose her leaves. As humans we endure the loss of loved ones, we think that we are isolated in our individual grief and yet nature experiences loss on a seasonal basis. She doesn’t drown in her despair. She knows that life is a beautiful struggle, so she revitalizes that beauty and continues forth by focusing on the opportunity of regrowth and rebirth. While the approaching winter may be cruel and cold we can cover up in the comfort that while the tree has lost her dearest assets she still stands, because she believes in the promise of spring. I think I’d like to too… _Quixotic Novelist Ps: I haven’t posted in ages and some of you have wondered why. I’ve placed an insistence on improving my writing and inspiring myself without the pressure of publication. Inspiration is an unexpected guest. Sometimes I’ll write five posts in one sitting and sometimes I won’t write until September. Bear with me, I’m constantly undergoing construction. Thank you for your readership, it truly means the world to me.