Togetherness means different things to different people. For me it is all about establishing and nurturing bonds with people and things all around us. For me it also means connecting with nature and in this process discover the joys of doing small things. These small things are best enjoyed when done together with family ,friends and neighbors.
As humans we have always wanted to be and interact with people.
We human beings take pride in the using technology in establishing connections with near and dear ones. However instead of creating a connection and a feeling of togetherness technology such as a smart phone is more of a distraction. The irony is that in our efforts to connect with each other we get so entangled and engrossed with the use of technology that we get disconnected with our immediate surroundings. We fail to take note and acknowledge our neighbors and all the activity that unfolds in our surroundings. We are too busy with the use of technology that we fail to notice the beautiful nature around us. The germination of plants and the blooming of flowers. Actually all these activities that unfold around us are opportunities that nature presents to us to connect with our surroundings and feel the power of togetherness .It is like the river of energy and vitality that rejuvenates us and washes away the stress. It recharges us and gives us enormous energy and vitality.
I remember when I was a child our house had a small kitchen garden where my grandmother used to work. She used to involve me in her activity. She used to tell me the names of different plants. Learning the names of these plants was like making new friends. Next she would introduce me to the benefits of these plants and how these plants help us. Their utility and the uses of these plants came as an eye opener for me. Whenever we used to sow the seeds it used to be a moment of great excitement waiting for them to germinate. The wait could be as short as a few days for some plant seeds and for other varieties it would take several weeks to germinate.
I enjoyed this togetherness with my grandmother . As the germinated seeds grew into small plants my relationship with my grandmother grew stronger day by day. She would share her knowledge with me and tell me anecdotes from her childhood days. In the evenings when the whole family got together for meals. Our garden used to be a hot topic of conversations. I used to record the growth of the plants and each millimeter of growth would be reported by me with great aplomb. Slowly all the family members became active participants in our gardening activity. My father took the charge of manuring the soil, my mom stitched a net to cover and protect the plants from the birds. Me and my grandmother continued our daily activity of watering and tending to our garden. In this process not only did the plants grew but so did our relationships. This togetherness helped us bloom together as a strong family unit. What had started as a small past time became a household project involving one and all and the time spent turned out to be the happiest and memorable part of our daily routine. It was an involvement that could not be easily forgotten and we had found the joy of real togetherness.
Our house began to overflow with sounds of laughter that soon caught the attention of our neighbors who got very curious. This curiosity led them to join our family activity and soon our endeavors turned it from a family centric activity to a community based activity in which each vacant and barren part of land saw slowly covered with a patch of plants. Now all the members of the group look forward to this time as it meant not only looking after the plants and caring for them but also it became a meeting point where recipes were shared and home remedies for common ailments were discussed with great gusto.
Some enterprising members used to bring in snacks making it into a grand picnic that we enjoyed tremendously. Now that I have grown up this activity still keeps us tied together. Over the passage of time we have realized the importance of real relationships and the power of togetherness .
As humans we have always wanted to be and interact with people.
We human beings take pride in the using technology in establishing connections with near and dear ones. However instead of creating a connection and a feeling of togetherness technology such as a smart phone is more of a distraction. The irony is that in our efforts to connect with each other we get so entangled and engrossed with the use of technology that we get disconnected with our immediate surroundings. We fail to take note and acknowledge our neighbors and all the activity that unfolds in our surroundings. We are too busy with the use of technology that we fail to notice the beautiful nature around us. The germination of plants and the blooming of flowers. Actually all these activities that unfold around us are opportunities that nature presents to us to connect with our surroundings and feel the power of togetherness .It is like the river of energy and vitality that rejuvenates us and washes away the stress. It recharges us and gives us enormous energy and vitality.
I remember when I was a child our house had a small kitchen garden where my grandmother used to work. She used to involve me in her activity. She used to tell me the names of different plants. Learning the names of these plants was like making new friends. Next she would introduce me to the benefits of these plants and how these plants help us. Their utility and the uses of these plants came as an eye opener for me. Whenever we used to sow the seeds it used to be a moment of great excitement waiting for them to germinate. The wait could be as short as a few days for some plant seeds and for other varieties it would take several weeks to germinate.
I enjoyed this togetherness with my grandmother . As the germinated seeds grew into small plants my relationship with my grandmother grew stronger day by day. She would share her knowledge with me and tell me anecdotes from her childhood days. In the evenings when the whole family got together for meals. Our garden used to be a hot topic of conversations. I used to record the growth of the plants and each millimeter of growth would be reported by me with great aplomb. Slowly all the family members became active participants in our gardening activity. My father took the charge of manuring the soil, my mom stitched a net to cover and protect the plants from the birds. Me and my grandmother continued our daily activity of watering and tending to our garden. In this process not only did the plants grew but so did our relationships. This togetherness helped us bloom together as a strong family unit. What had started as a small past time became a household project involving one and all and the time spent turned out to be the happiest and memorable part of our daily routine. It was an involvement that could not be easily forgotten and we had found the joy of real togetherness.
Our house began to overflow with sounds of laughter that soon caught the attention of our neighbors who got very curious. This curiosity led them to join our family activity and soon our endeavors turned it from a family centric activity to a community based activity in which each vacant and barren part of land saw slowly covered with a patch of plants. Now all the members of the group look forward to this time as it meant not only looking after the plants and caring for them but also it became a meeting point where recipes were shared and home remedies for common ailments were discussed with great gusto.
Some enterprising members used to bring in snacks making it into a grand picnic that we enjoyed tremendously. Now that I have grown up this activity still keeps us tied together. Over the passage of time we have realized the importance of real relationships and the power of togetherness .
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