Saturday, April 12, 2008

Singing in the Rain

Western Shore, Ubin, 11 April 2008

I have come a long way and I don't mean the boat ride. There was a time I cried in the rain - a young someone somewhere in time past - and I realized then firsthand that in the rain no one knows you are crying. But today... this - me - today... I am singing in the rain. I am singing! Yes, sink however low I may in the mud today, my spirit shall soar forevermore! I have friends... friends left and right - Ria and Ee Kiam, and newfound friend Vivian; I have them in the best place we can ever be - Nature. I have found freedom... freedom in her purest sense, you see. I can feel 'us'; I can feel 'we'; I can feel the wind, the sea, the lightning, the sky, the clouds and the rain; I can feel it All as One! I am no more me, you see; I am Free!

Yes, today, I can't be happier! Even if I should lose all knowledge, my heart will overflow with shouts of joy and I will shout them atop all the boulders I can find today! Yes, even if I shall not know or forget all the plants by their names, I will still celebrate with them in their uniqueness and wonderness of the unknownst. In this pure state, I and we are all free!!!... my inner self and my outer me! : )

But if you must know... here are some old plantpals I met today... : )

[Above: Gymnanthera oblonga, a rare scrambling shrub]

[Above: close-up of G. oblonga]

[Above: close-up of G. oblonga]

[G. oblonga exhibits 2 leaf forms: oblong and lanceolate (above) ]

[Above: Fagraea auriculata, a rare epiphytic shrub growing on granite boulder (Vivian below the magnificent clump)]

[Above: Ficus deltoidea, a rare epiphytic shrub growing on granite boulder]

Don't forget to live, will you? Every day beckons for your re-invention...

[Above: Cyrene Reef, 10 April 2008]

3 comments:

Ria Tan said...

WOW! Those are spectacular finds! Thanks for sharing them.

Only you could have found these treasures :-)

It was great spending time with you and Dr Chua. We always have fun together, don't we? Regardless of the weather, and near death experiences (which I still attribute to Dr Chua).

Haloaaaargh9 said...

It's an earth-shattering feeling, isn't it? When one becomes ego-less, no longer the centre of all one surveys, but simply a part of everything. An integral part, naturally, but no more so than the lichen on that rock over there or that limping dog over there. As you say, it's freedom. It's also respect. Long may it last. ...Hope to feel it too some times!
Littly

Joe Lai said...

Thanks Littly, if I may add,
'happy are the dispossessed.' : )