Happiness is stardust
I wish everyone gets to experience the monsoon in Mumbai, at least once in their lifetime. The rains bring with them a poetic charm to the city like no other season. My house is on the ground floor of the building. From this place in my balcony, I'm one of the last recipients of these blessings showered upon us by the thunderous clouds. As I look up, the collage of lights on the skyscrapers around me look like shining stars on a clear night. The scent of the wet earth reverberates through the atmosphere such that for a second I forget that I live in the heart of one of the biggest urban metropolitan cities on the planet.
Millions of people come to this city in the pursuit of their dreams, in the pursuit of employment—and in the pursuit of happiness. Droplets of rain bounce off my window onto my face—happiness lies in them too. As I think of the world around me tonight, I can't help but think of what rain is made of. My mind dives to depths of these drops of water. I think back to when I learnt in school about what water is made from. For years since then I've had the knowledge that it is made from 2 parts hydrogen and a part of oxygen. This is perhaps very common information. But the beauty of it never fails to fascinate me.
Hydrogen is one of the most inflammable gases known to humans—even our Sun is largely made up of hydrogen. On the other hand, the mightiest flames of fire will cease to burn without the presence of oxygen—fire needs oxygen to burn. Independently, these elements of our nature hold potential to breed deadly outcomes that could wipe out life as we know it. But when they accompany each other, in just the right quantities, they form water—which not only smothers fire, but also gives birth to life as we know it.
Our universe tells us many a story about such companions around us. Since the dawn of time, countless celestial bodies around us have found companions and still do as time passes. The closest companion of our own planet as we all know it—the Moon—found Earth 4.5 billion years ago. As recited across tales & poems of love, this story of love too, began with a spark, quite literally. In the years that Earth was still forming, a celestial body is said to have collided with the planet, leading to masses of debris flung into space—eventually coalescing to form our Moon.
Over billions of years of such collisions and companionship across the cosmos is what brought us to life. The core of our very existence, our own atoms come from stars that created them in their own cores over billions of years. Every single particle of our being, was bred in the depths of these stars. This very fact is enough to tell us that we are connected to every other living being in our world today. This very fact is enough to tell us that an act of hatred with one, is an act of hatred with us all. This very fact is enough to tell us that an act of love towards one, is an act of love towards all.
On nights like these, the sound of rain and thunder keeps me up. I've been living alone in this house for 5 months now. Even to a seeker of solitude like myself, once in a while, such nights bring with them the yearning for a companion. I wonder what lies in the coming together of my own self with another. I wonder if there is something beyond the perception of my heart & mind—a collision, a companion, a cosmos created out of love. For now, I move ahead in my own orbit.
For now, the lights shining on the skyscrapers, the scent of the earth, the little drops of water all bring me happiness. I find myself lost in thought of questions I may not know of yet to ask. The reality of our nature is far more wondrous than anything we can imagine. I wonder if I'd ever know where to start, if I were to find out all its mysteries. I find happiness in just being lost in these mysteries.
It is a mysterious thing, happiness. It lies in the biggest of moments of our lives, and it lies in the smallest of moments in our lives. Happiness is momentary, elusive even, and yet fulfilling, if one allows themselves to feel it. We must allow ourselves to feel it. Happiness is in the mountains that pass you, and the clouds that look upon you, the birds that give their melody to the world and the rivers that brought us to life. Happiness is in the stars that collided to give birth to us. Happiness is neither a destination, nor a journey—it is in the stardust sprinkled along the way. We're all made of this stardust.