Embracing the Storm

Literature lesson was kinda fun today. For one, I was egged on by my friends and the teacher to read this part where Lear shouts into the storm about his terrible daughters. Well, I think I did a bad job by stumbling through quite a few words, but I find the exercise rather productive after everything. I was actually able to to identify the emotions experienced by poor King Lear, his pain, his grief, his helplessness, his anger,frustration, confusion...everything. It felt great really, for I soon found myself channelling my own feelings by reading aloud. In short, it actually became a source of releasing my own negative emotions. Maybe I should read aloud more to myself to destress next time.=)

Anyway, on my way home after a really long day, there was a sudden flash storm. Those kind that struck without warning and had that fast and furious streak. So there I was, struggling with my old umbrella while trying to walk with the wind and the rain coming against me as if to blow me off my feet, when I sudden realised how useless it was. Man can never win against nature, so why cant we try to embrace and acknowledge its power? I was getting all wet and drenched by this time even with the umbrella, and with my mind still thinking about poor Lear ranting in the storm, I kept my umbrella and proceed to walk out into the storm.

At that instance, I felt as if I was truly free. There was nothing to think of, nothing to stop me. The wind brushed harshly past my body, and the rain, beat upon every part of my body relentlessly. Wetting me, dripping off my face, my clothes. I stood there, feeling the pressure of the rain drops as they achieve contact with my physical self. I felt so vulnerable, so fragile, as if I'm some malleable metal being beaten into shape by the hands of Nature, up, down, left, right, center.

I find myself shivering. Not really with the cold, but in awe. For I had felt and witnessed for myself the power of Nature, and see for myself the fragility of man. Man is always trying to prove himself stronger than Nature, constantly looking for new ways to challenge Nature's power. Yet ultimately, Nature defeats us all. In our lifetime, we might try to achieve the best for ourselves, getting the best out of everything, trying to do things that will only advantage us. We challenge Nature in the process, destroying rainforests, polluting rivers, trying to clone animals, destroying the order of things, trying to prove that we can play God. Yet in the end, we gain nothing, only self destructioon, and pain. We die, a slow, self inflicted death, and death on its own is a form of Nature itself. Clearly, there is no other power in the world stronger than Nature, no other force as merciless. And Man is still too proud to admit it, prefering to live in their self deluded world of egoism.

I wonder if Lear had felt the same way as I did when he stood in the storm, shouting out his grief into the wind and rain. Did he see the irony of the situation? How he had himself upset the natural order of things when he made his foolish decision, and now he could only rant and blame the very force of Nature as he stood in the storm lamenting?Hmmm, I will say that Lear in this context is a good representation of man and his folly.

Ok, enough reflecting and discussions on King Lear. Haha. Maybe Shuwen was right about bringing out the "Lear-ness" in me, for soon after that I just went crazy, running about in the storm, jumping on the deepest puddles,grinning like some retard. I'm not really sure what happen, but I certainly felt very happy at the end of it all. The sudden realisation of the relationship between man and Nature seem to have released me from some form of control I guess, for I just felt so free, so wonderful. Haha. I really dont know how to describe my feelings. But truly, I have grown to acknowledge the power of nature and to respect its existance. Well, I will like to continue more along this line, but it will become very philosophical so I guess I'll leave things at that.=P

"Thou nature, art my goddess. To thy law/My services are bound/" ---King Lear, Willliam Shakespeare