Geography lessons from a drunken philosopher

“He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts - for support rather than illumination”

Andrew Lang

Ever seen a mountain ? Those big huge vast bodies of stone. Apparently frozen in time. Everyone think of them as embodiment of timeless ness. Epitome of stability. Set in their path, making concession for nothing and no one. Hiding precious things like gold, diamond and some purely utilitarian things like coal and fossil fuel. Sometime covered with snow but mostly barren. Very few people live there most of us go to mountain for convalesce.

This is the common perception about them and for most of the purpose this perception serves us well to understand them. Unitll ...untill you see a river flowing through a mountain. For river, those same timeless , changeless , eternal Mountain makes exception and give path to the her . It tears himself apart to make way for river's flow .never regretting or thinking about the loss of identity incurred in the process. River flows through it and life flourishes in the valley. People worship the river. His sacrifice or contribution is never noticed or appreciated. However he notices that children in the valley never draw a picture of river without mountain but then they are children their parents lives on the bank of rivers and soon they teach their kids that valley owe everything to river.

River keep flowing till it falls in sea. After that there is no river any more . There is only sea. River loses its identity. Her water becomes saline. Sea never takes notice. After all for sea its just another river falling in to it. What’s the big deal ? Mountain feels bad. He thinks his sacrifice, his effort went in waste. He made an exception for river. And river chucked that for what? To become just another anonymous contributor to saline water reservoir ? Mountain feels sad and angry and a volcano erupts from it . it’s lava hurts the people living in the valley. they curse mountain.

But than one day after a very long time something strange happen .a lone drifting cloud ,floating high up in sky passes through the mountain. That cloud is not visible either to people of valley or river. And much like mountain, that lone drifting cloud is of no use for them. Thanks to their altitude, that cloud collide with Mountain. They talk , She listen to his story ,understand his pain and tear start rolling from her eyes . Only the water is not saline this time and people in valley call it rain . Volcano cools down, grass sprouts on the mountain, and river get filled with fresh water. Life flourishes.

That lone drifting cloud who appeared out of nowhere tells something to the mountain and mountain is happy again .He can see things in perspective. Looks back at the river, valley and people. only this time he don't seek any validation , recognition or approval. He resolve to keep doing what he always did. As the lone drifting cloud moves on to her path to heal the pain of others like him he prepare to face another season of summer. Another flow of river passing through it. World, oblivious to all this keeps moving on.

Are you wondering what that cloud said to mountain which made him forget his sorrow? She asked him to not to be judgmental and learn to let go . She told him that "what you are is your nature and what other are is there nature. neither is wrong or right . only different” and she told him that "Because of your this very nature you have a special places in god's heart. He loves you more than anything else. Ever wondered why mountains are highest place on earth ? Because highest on earth is nearest to god."

Forever the rationalist, mountain dismissed the idea saying "I don't think god gives a damn."

Lone drifting cloud smiled and said “Who do you think has sent me??”

In life we all act like that mountain at times, than we feel angry, upset and dejected. if that's the case I have one advice for you. look around and look up. Trust me ,Your guardian angel your lone drifting cloud will be somewhere near to you.

Pic courtesy Aris Gionis