padi field

I am sitting by a field of rice, a padi, here in Karnataka in India. Under the hot tropical sun the rice is flourishing, and the field is a vibrant green, full of life. There is a breeze blowing, intermittently, gusting across the rice field, bringing it alive. And watching, I am mesmerised by the waves of bright green, as the rice dances to the tune of the wind. And somehow this is a timeless scene for me.

This rice field has probably been cultivated here for hundreds of years – every year bringing life with this lush, green rice. In a way it seems timeless and changeless. And yet every growing season the rice is born afresh: vital, youthful, vigorous once again. It is forever new.

And so it is with life, if we open our eyes to the moment, there is always this lushness, freshness, newness. And if we take a step back and look at the whole field of life, we will see it dancing, just as this field of rice is dancing in the wind today. So let's not forget that we too are like a rice plant in the padi, swaying this way and that when the wind blows, but also part of a great dance, a great wave passing this way and that, through the whole field of existence.