I always feel at total peace in MacRitchie. For one, this entire place brought back the fondest memories of childhood where we ran cross country without fail every year, evoking saccharine reminiscences of a simpler day and age when all of us were young and carefree, unfettered and insouciant.
Beyond nostalgia, this verdant park - with its seemingly boundless aquatic edges that stretches into the deep-seated untamed islets of dense forests - infuse a rare tranquillity and serenity in me. It is an exceptional sight for urbanites like us, where we could observe no skyscrapers nor buildings, only miles of emerald green trees, teal blue waters and cerulean skies dotted with virginal white clouds.
On this day, we strolled along the edges of the water, slowly ambling further and further into the luxuriant jungle, away from the madding crowds. We trekked across muddy tracks and wandered across hidden bridges.
We clambered up colossal, antiquated tree trunks, and observed mischievous macaque monkeys playing in the trees.
We meandered alongside the water's edges, hushing the Bees and then enveloping ourselves in the mellifluous silence, hearing nothing but the resonant orchestra of sighing tree leaves, chirping insects, tweeting birds and the gentle gurgling of the water right beside our feet.
Our senses were sharpened and the Bees began to discern the stunning beauties of nature. Little Bee started counting the ubiquitous fuchsia pink and electric blue damselflies, and we learned the difference between a damselfly and a dragonfly.
Big Bee stumbled upon a devastatingly brilliant dead butterfly floating forlornly on the water's surface, yet the colours on its lifeless wings were still resplendently vivid.
We counted the rings on desolate tree stumps, trying to guess how old these destroyed trees were.
We even did a little reading and some reflective discussions on the importance of preserving nature in this commercial and materialistic world we are living in.
Little beauties in life that are normally masked by an urban life's meaningless pursuits of short-term electronic pleasures - now surfacing to present themselves when our senses are perceptive, when our eyes are truly discerning, when our minds are open.
I am glad we still retain little fragments of these miracles even in concrete Singapore :)
We clambered up colossal, antiquated tree trunks, and observed mischievous macaque monkeys playing in the trees.
We meandered alongside the water's edges, hushing the Bees and then enveloping ourselves in the mellifluous silence, hearing nothing but the resonant orchestra of sighing tree leaves, chirping insects, tweeting birds and the gentle gurgling of the water right beside our feet.
Our senses were sharpened and the Bees began to discern the stunning beauties of nature. Little Bee started counting the ubiquitous fuchsia pink and electric blue damselflies, and we learned the difference between a damselfly and a dragonfly.
Big Bee stumbled upon a devastatingly brilliant dead butterfly floating forlornly on the water's surface, yet the colours on its lifeless wings were still resplendently vivid.
We counted the rings on desolate tree stumps, trying to guess how old these destroyed trees were.
We even did a little reading and some reflective discussions on the importance of preserving nature in this commercial and materialistic world we are living in.
Little beauties in life that are normally masked by an urban life's meaningless pursuits of short-term electronic pleasures - now surfacing to present themselves when our senses are perceptive, when our eyes are truly discerning, when our minds are open.
I am glad we still retain little fragments of these miracles even in concrete Singapore :)
2 comments:
Lovely photos of MacRitchie...reminds me that I should pay that place a visit soon, I think I haven't been there in more than 8 years.
Rachel: Thanks! Yes, it is a rather therapeutic place - get away from the madding crowds over the weekends!
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