LOVE, Kloudiia

An Australian friend made a most innocent remark when he saw the grill gate, or rather, all the grill gates, at the entrance of all the flats. “Why are there gaps in all these gates?” he asked my sister.

I was dumbfounded for about three seconds when my sister told me about this, before I laughed in comprehension. The gates in Australia are all netted with a mesh to prevent insects, especially abundant during summer time, from flying in. So he found it interesting that the gates all come with such gaping holes in between each grill, and each household sporting a different design!

All this while, we’ve probably gotten so used to these designs that we just assume they’re supposed to be like this. We don’t really stop to admire how the leaves intertwine with with grills, how the lovely twirls and turns are slowly twisted and moulded into shape, do we? Which leads me to think, what other things in life have we so gotten used to seeing, hearing and touching that we’ve stopped to marvel at how they came about, how and why they have evolved into their current state and the purpose they’ve been serving? Do we miss those stately trees lining all our roads giving us shade when we are overseas? Or are we expecting that the trees will be there and get frustrated when they aren’t, instead of expressing our thankfulness for their presence at home?

Do you complain that the roses have thorns, or rejoice that the thorns have roses?

What can we stop to marvel at today on our way to work, to lunch, to an appointment, and back to home? What can we rejoice at? What new perspective can we bring to our and other people’s lives today?