A Journey to the Center of the Soul
By: Kanika Kumar
Tags: Short Story, Introspection, Inner Peace, Stories, Inner Beauty

Part 3 — A Giant for a Gardener

Pink cherry blossoms rained down on his head as he moved past the tree. The grass around released a fragrance of sweet freshness that comes after a recent bath of dew drops. Small hills lay scattered in the distance. And the trees nearby bustled gently as if whispering a warm welcome to the two guests. The boy and his father had reached a wide garden that seemed to reflect the sun everywhere.

An aura of happiness and satisfaction began enveloping the boy as he moved through the wet grass, a gentle breeze dancing across the garden with its windy cheer.

Now, this, is life, the boy thought.

“And, life, is beautiful!”

The boy turned towards the voice that had made the declaration, and it did not belong to his father. His sight landed on a man’s torso, and then the boy moved his gaze upwards to take a look at the man’s face because that was how tall the man was. The man, was a giant, in fact. The sun gleamed off the small bun that his hair was tied into. The man’s eyes were only half-open. He seemed to be at peace with himself and with everything that surrounded him. And he stood there, smiling down at the boy and his father.

“I am the man that owns this garden, and you are welcome to this land of beauty.” The man’s voice was soft and gentle, despite his staggering height.

The boy bowed in respect, expressed his gratitude for the invitation, and decided to explore more of this beautiful garden that seemed to stretch on for miles.

Gently flowing streams rippling with the laughter of water being tickled by the small rocks; carefully groomed flowers and trees that were happy to get spoilt; bush-lined hills that would be delight to climb — the garden was abound with beauty everywhere. The more he explored, the more the boy felt a strange feeling wind itself around his heart. He felt at ease, and at peace.

It was tempting, this peace, and the boy at once determined to never leave this garden.

“You don’t have to,” the giant said, as if reading his mind. The giant was no where near the boy, and yet, the boy could hear him as clearly as if he was standing right next to him. Tending to his garden, attending to its needs, creating a beauty that was first born in his own thought; the giant had become a part with this nature — everything carried his thoughts, and every thought was also carried to him.

The boy looked at his father who had settled himself on a bench, dozing off, after watching the colorful fish that swam around the pond. His travel-weary father was at peace too.

Hiking through the hills that were gracious enough to allow him to climb them, the boy ran his hands over everything he passed by — the leaves of shrubs, the trunks of trees, and the flowers of bushes. Everything was where it should be, at peace.

“Are you?” asked the giant

“Are you asking if I am at peace?” wondered the boy.

“No, I am asking if you are where you should be.”

The boy’s eyes clouded in confusion. “I don’t know where I should be.”

“Is this the place where you think you should be?”

The boy imagined himself, shears in hand, tending to the garden. He laughed and banished the image quickly from his head. It did not fit into his feelings over his future. “No, this is not where I should be,” he declared.

“That is one situation that has been eliminated. Why are you here then?”

Situations, his martial-arts coach had explained, one day, when the boy had lost a tournament, and was inconsolable. We are constantly placed in situations and experiences that are unique to us. Figure out what is the take-away from the situation that we are in.

The boy wondered why he was here, in the garden of beauty, with the giant.

He looked around once more, soaking in the details. The sight of the place filled him with peace. And he would carry this sight forever in his memory, wherever he was. He would carry the proud flowers, the fresh grass, the whispering trees, the laughing streams, the compassionate hills — he would pull it all out during times of desperation. He would remember that in a world gone astray, beauty still thrived, somewhere — in this place, and then, in his memory. If he sought out that memory, he would also seek out his peace, especially during times of distress. And he would also seek out his…

“…I am here to understand that I need to reach and reflect my inner beauty, even during the most desperate of moments.”

“And what is your inner beauty?” The giant smiled his beloved smile.

The boy shrugged. “Now, that is my quest. To discover my inner beauty.”

Bidding adieu to the calm giant, the boy jogged down the hilly pathway, and moved to shake his father awake.

Dear Reader,

Let’s talk inner beauty.

I have always felt beautiful. This feeling has taken me past my buck teeth, past childhood bullying, past the epilepsy, past the post-partum depression, and through the fight against my low sense of self-worth. So, what makes me beautiful? Or, what makes me think I am beautiful.

I don’t know… Maybe someone told me something that made me feel beautiful. I remember my mother telling me that once. I may never know how this idea wedged itself into my mind. I am forever grateful to whoever built it into its place.

I know, I am beautiful.

I also know that you, are just as beautiful.

Nature is beautiful, and bountiful. And like the beautiful nature that exists around us, inner beauty, too, comes inbuilt. All we need to do, is find it, and help it thrive.

Here’s to discovering your inner beauty, and growing it into the sunshine!