Several years ago, I wrote a regular column for the JEANS section of 'The Nation'. The editor of JEANS, Kusumanjalee Thilakarathna now handles the 'Littlestars' tabloid distributed with 'The Sunday Morning'. This is the fourteenth article for Littlestars. Scroll down to find the full series of articles written for JEANS and the those of this new series.
Water is a marvelous toy. Just think of all the things you can do with water. It’s lovely to play in the rain, provided of course it’s not a thunderstorm with lightening decorating the sky. It’s lovely to bathe in a waterfall, as long as it’s safe. It’s nice to bathe in the sea, as long as you keep to the shallow areas. You can slosh around in puddles after the rain.
It’s also nice to watch the rain. And once the rain ceases, you can go outside and just breathe. It will be as though the entire world has been sprinkled with new perfumes. And the puddles, you don’t have to slosh in them — you can just look at the reflections of trees and clouds as the form on the water and change as the wind moves branches, leaves and yes, even the clouds.
There are probably other interesting things you could do with water and I’m sure you can make quite a long list. This is about reflections.
Take a basin and fill it with water. Make sure the basin is on a flat, solid surface. A table perhaps, or even a paved surface. Let the water settle down until it’s perfectly still. The chances are you will see your reflection in the water if you happen to peer into it.
Keep watching. The water will not remain still forever. The slightest breeze will cause a ripple. It may be tiny, but immediately you will see your reflection get distorted.
Give it a few minutes. The water will become still again. Now use your hand or even a few fingers and stir the water. What happens to the reflection now? It’s worse isn’t it?
You’ll have to imagine the next part of this exercise. Imagine what’s in the basin is boiling water. Even if you have a basin or rather a pot of boiling water the last thing you should do is to peer into it. You’ll get your face burnt! But you can imagine it, can’t you? It will be bubbling. There will be steam. Do you think a clear reflection of anything can be got from such a surface? The answer of course is ‘no’. No way.
So here’s the story. Reflection cannot be seen in boiling water.
'I'm at boiling point!'
We hear people say that, don't we?
So here’s the lesson: truth cannot be seen when you are angry or even mildly agitated. Just like you can’t see reflection in boiling water, you cannot see reason when you are angry.
To understand anything, you need to be calm — like still water.
Articles for THE SUNDAY MORNING
Articles for THE NATION
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There's an ant story waiting for you
And you can be a rainbow-maker
Trees are noble teachers
On cloudless nights the moon is a hole
Gulp down those hurtful words
A question is a boat, a jet, a space-ship or a heart
Quotes can take you far but they can also stop you
No one is weak
The fisherman in a black shirt
Let's celebrate Nelli and Nelliness
Ready for time travel?
Puddles look back at you, did you know?
What's the view like from your door?
The world is rearranged by silhouettes
How would you paint the sky?
It is cool to slosh around
You can compose your own music
Pebbles are amazing things
You can fly if you want to
The happiest days of our lives
So what do you want to do with the rain?
Still looking for that secret passage?
Maybe we should respect the dust we walk on
Numbers are beautiful
There are libraries everywhere
Collect something crazy
Fragments speak of a thousand stories
The games you can and cannot play with rice
The magic of the road less-traveled
Have you ever thought of forgiving?
Wallflowers are pretty, aren't they?
What kind of friend do you want to be?
Noticed the countless butterflies around you?
It's great to chase rainbows
In praise of 'lesser' creatures
A mango is a book did you know?
Expressions are interesting things
How many pairs of eyes do you need?
So no one likes you?
There is magic in faraway lights
The thambilil-seller of Giriulla
When people won't listen, things will
Lessons of the seven-times table
Some jokes are not funny
There's an ant story waiting for you
And you can be a rainbow-maker
Trees are noble teachers
On cloudless nights the moon is a hole
Gulp down those hurtful words
A question is a boat, a jet, a space-ship or a heart
Quotes can take you far but they can also stop you
No one is weak
The fisherman in a black shirt
Let's celebrate Nelli and Nelliness
Ready for time travel?
Puddles look back at you, did you know?
What's the view like from your door?
The world is rearranged by silhouettes
How would you paint the sky?
It is cool to slosh around
You can compose your own music
Pebbles are amazing things
You can fly if you want to
The happiest days of our lives
So what do you want to do with the rain?
Still looking for that secret passage?
Maybe we should respect the dust we walk on
Numbers are beautiful
There are libraries everywhere
Collect something crazy
Fragments speak of a thousand stories
The games you can and cannot play with rice
The magic of the road less-traveled
Have you ever thought of forgiving?
Wallflowers are pretty, aren't they?
What kind of friend do you want to be?
Noticed the countless butterflies around you?
It's great to chase rainbows
In praise of 'lesser' creatures
A mango is a book did you know?
Expressions are interesting things
How many pairs of eyes do you need?
So no one likes you?
There is magic in faraway lights
The thambilil-seller of Giriulla
When people won't listen, things will
Lessons of the seven-times table
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