15 The Old Man and his Brolly


The Old Man and His Brolly

I remember very clearly walking one day.  Butterflies and bees were out and about and the buds on the trees beginning to open. The sounds of birds as they get back to a life of some normality and begin to seek partners and to build nests. The woodpeckers were tapping wildly seeking a mate, trying hard to prove their worth as a father. I thought of my father frequently said to me, “Stop chattering and just listen and let nature give you some answers.”

I was reminded of the story of the old man taking his daily walk.      

With bent shoulders, he set out each day to walk his few miles. On the days when it rained, he carried his furled umbrella, seldom if ever bothering to unfurl it, preferring to feel the rain on his balding head.  He came to a place in the road where there were a number of rocky steps which he climbed with determination and care. At the top of the steps, there was a carved pot with a cut bamboo pole to direct clear spring water into the pot. Here he would pause and enjoy the sweet taste of the clear cool water. He would stop for a moment, bending his ear, like an attentive student. He would listen, with joy on his face to the confluence of sounds; the pitter-patter of the rain on the leaves, the gurgle of the flowing water. There in the sounds, was a sense, a precise mix of melancholy and joy that make life exquisite to live. 

“There is sadness and beauty all around. When you can fully understand that and hear nature sing to you, no longer will you be a boy but a man my friend." or as my father would have said, “Stop chattering and just listen and let nature give you some answers.”

Wonderful advice to ponder.





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