Sunday, October 03, 2010

The little things

In my job, I can get to see really wonderful scenes of nature unfolding as I walk along the streets. The world is my office and the flowers, the trees and the living things are my colleagues. Recently, I've been taking out my mp3 player in my bag and started listening to it while walking alone to work. Being alone and being lonely are really two different things. You can be alone but never feel lonely, or you can be surrounded by people yet lonely. I think loneliness is a state of mind.



Anyway, equipped with my multi purpose handphone, I get the urge occasionally to take some really breath taking sunsets. This particular one takes place while I was walking along to another workplace around evening time. You can always tell that you'll have a beautiful sunset by looking at the orangey glow (if it happens) around that time. If the cloud cover and the angle that that the last rays of the sun is just right, the whole sky will be flooded by an orange glow which is perfect for taking pictures. Here's a few that I took quite a while ago:


The cloud looks like the temple of ancient Greeks, with the three pillars supporting the roof. Hey, looks like MBS??


After a few minutes of walking, the great drama of the sky plays out further


Breath-taking isn't it?


The pictures are breath-taking enough even with my sucky handphone camera, so can you imagine the real scene unfolding in front of me? This is really one of the things that I liked about my job. My gf always say that I'm simple minded and is easily amused/contented by little things. I agree. If we strip away the nonsense that surrounds our life, the little things are all that matters isn't it?



Did I tell you about the activity that I will do after a rainy day, especially at night? I learned of this from my very kind hearted gf, who will pick up snails that happen to stray away from their grassy territory into the man-made pavements. There are many people walking on the pavements and occasionally you'll see a crushed snail whose life is snuffed out by a big giant foot. I wonder why nature made snails with shells that are so easily crushed...it doesn't serve them any better by sailing along so slowly either. Imagine you are walking along the streets, ambling gently perhaps window shopping, then a huge feet just came from nowhere and crushes you to death. Quick death no doubt, but such a wanton waste of life.... As such, I will do my part to pick up snails that happen to be in the pavements. Pluck them out of the pavements, and teleport them to their intended direction (I hope) towards a grassy patch. They will be all frightened and retreat into their backpacked home but at least they will be safe.



What's the purpose of this blog post? Nothing, haha :) In a rare rojak of events that happened, I am not working on a Sunday so I can afford some luxury thinking about the little things that happened in my life. If you see someone picking up snails after a rainy day at night, it could well be me.

13 comments :

Createwealth8888 said...

Farmers and gardeners hate snails!

Createwealth8888 said...

May be it is time for you to take up fishing as hobby. Watching many sunsets at different locations is part of it. LOL

Anonymous said...

Hi LP,

It's very rare to find such a person nowadays who are caring towards little living things like snails and ants. You are wonderful!

Anonymous said...

Ah! Another nature lover. Or as my friends would tease me, "tree hugger!" =)

It's really great knowing that you & yr gf also care enough to pick up the snails to relocate them from being carelessly trampled. I have been picking up snails whenever spotted for couple of years now to prevent being crushed too and have never seen anyone else do it before.

It's believed somewhere that an animal blesses the person who has shown kindness to it, and that this blessing is worth more than if another person had blessed us. But blessing or no blessing, what counts is the act of consideration that you both have shown. Well done!

Great pics btw. Yeah i truly agree that being alone and being lonely are two different things. Mother Nature is amazing ain't she?

Cheers,
~K

Createwealth8888 said...

Snails and slugs are among the most bothersome pests in many gardens and landscapes. We need to have eco balance otherwise we will not see beautiful gardens and landscapes.

Why snails have soft shells?

Nature determines that some of them need to crush out to keep the number in check.

Preys and Predators. Lions prey on deers and eat them while the deers are still kicking and in tears. Lions are cruel???

Same debate go to meat eaters and vegetarians. Who have kind hearts?

Life and death is nature part of cycle. You either die of old age, illness or accident (like snails got crush out)

la papillion said...

Hi bro8888,

No lah, don't think I'll ever take up fishing. It's rather cruel to me.

I think there's a difference between crushing a snail and a predator eating it. If the same logic is applied to murderers, then aren't they needed to keep the number of humans in check too? Ecological balance or not, let me not be the one who keeps the balance. I just feel guilty doing that.

I was a vegetarian for 1 yr, but without having a means to control my own food, it's rather unhealthy to keep eating only veg outside my home. Hence I stopped. I would love to return to it again since I know I can handle it.

la papillion said...

Hi FFN,

Thanks for your compliment. I wasn't like that but I learned it mostly from my very kind gf. I try not to kill little things indiscriminately.

la papillion said...

Hi K,

Nah, don't think I am such a big nature lover. I do my best that's all :)

Interesting theory about blessing from animals you have. I never really thought about that when I picked up the snails. It's just that it'll be wrong of me if I knew they were in danger of being killed, I can do something about it, but I didn't do it. I'll feel guilty...

Do visit my blog now and then :)

Createwealth8888 said...

Try talking to farmers or gardeners on snails and let me know how they feel.

Just like rain. Farmers love rain while fishermen don't.

Life is just like that. One man's meat is another man's poison.

la papillion said...

Hi bro8888,

I'm neither a farmer or a gardener. My actions don't have to please everyone, I suppose.

Regarding snails...I wonder how much they eat the greens per day. Some of it must come out as fertilizers to aid the plants. Oh, how about snails controlling the population of plants too, by eating them up so there will be a balance.

Seems like you're very pro-human, haha

Createwealth8888 said...

Pests are pests. Some human are pests too.

Musicwhiz said...

Hi LP,

You'd be surprised to learn that when I was giving tuition in those ulu places where you have to walk down a long lonely lane (landed property), you really appreciate the things you see along the way. I used to admire the sky, trees, grass and plants too; and enjoyed the quiet moments without vehicles or human beings.

Nowadays my student lives in an HDB beside the main road so I don't have this luxury. So yes please do treasure it! Seems you and I know how to enjoy the small things in life, haha!

Regards,
Musicwhiz

la papillion said...

Hi Mw,

Oh yes, those ulu landed property are the best. If it's raining lightly, walking under the umbrella hearing the soft pelting of the rain is very therapeutic too.

But please dun do it around lunch time...the heat can melt you, haha :)