<p>Most days, my life moves in familiar rhythms. I get caught up with my daily routine, and before I realise it, the day is over. There is comfort in that predictability, but there is also a lurking danger. When daily happenings become repetitive, I stop really seeing it. I move through the world on autopilot. And yet, every now and then, something small breaks through that reminds me that beauty is not rare or distant. It is already here, tucked quietly into ordinary moments, waiting for me to notice.</p>.<p>While exchanging news and views with my friend on our regular morning walk in the park, she suddenly whispered, “Look there.” I turned and saw a peacock strutting around a short distance away. Its neck was an iridescent blue, reflecting the early morning light in a way that made everything around it seem softer and brighter. I stopped mid-step. For a few seconds, the ordinary path I knew so well felt transformed. That moment stayed with me because it reminded me of how often the extraordinary hides inside the familiar.</p>.In the lap of nature.<p>I felt something similar one evening while returning home after a long, forgettable day. I looked up and saw the crescent moon positioned below two bright stars, and it looked uncannily like a smiley face drawn across the sky. It was such a tiny thing, almost childish in its charm, but it made me smile immediately. Nothing significant had happened that day, and maybe that is why the moment felt so powerful. It reminded me that joy does not always make a grand entry; it comes gently, through a shape in the sky, a breeze at the right moment, or a pause that lets me feel present again.</p>.<p>In the hospital’s windowless room I gazed at the ceiling listlessly. Then I heard the call of the cuckoo; at once I felt lighter and optimistic, as that was my dad’s whistling tune. I remember another afternoon in Digboi, Assam. I wanted to see the old chaang bungalows, those beautiful wooden houses built on stilts, but the rain pelted, and everything outside my window looked hazy. Disappointed, I began scrolling through WhatsApp messages while the rain drummed on. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the rain stopped. When I looked out again, there it was — a rainbow stretched across the sky in a perfect arc, as if apologising for the earlier downpour.</p>.<p>Different experiences and moments create a garland of happiness. A cup of chai with a friend, a lingering conversation, or a joke may seem ordinary when they happen, yet they are often the memories that stay the longest. They give life its warmth and depth. A peacock in the park may not appear every day, but beauty is never far away. It lives in nature, in human connection, in quiet pauses, and in unexpected moments of wonder.</p><p><em>Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.</em></p>
<p>Most days, my life moves in familiar rhythms. I get caught up with my daily routine, and before I realise it, the day is over. There is comfort in that predictability, but there is also a lurking danger. When daily happenings become repetitive, I stop really seeing it. I move through the world on autopilot. And yet, every now and then, something small breaks through that reminds me that beauty is not rare or distant. It is already here, tucked quietly into ordinary moments, waiting for me to notice.</p>.<p>While exchanging news and views with my friend on our regular morning walk in the park, she suddenly whispered, “Look there.” I turned and saw a peacock strutting around a short distance away. Its neck was an iridescent blue, reflecting the early morning light in a way that made everything around it seem softer and brighter. I stopped mid-step. For a few seconds, the ordinary path I knew so well felt transformed. That moment stayed with me because it reminded me of how often the extraordinary hides inside the familiar.</p>.In the lap of nature.<p>I felt something similar one evening while returning home after a long, forgettable day. I looked up and saw the crescent moon positioned below two bright stars, and it looked uncannily like a smiley face drawn across the sky. It was such a tiny thing, almost childish in its charm, but it made me smile immediately. Nothing significant had happened that day, and maybe that is why the moment felt so powerful. It reminded me that joy does not always make a grand entry; it comes gently, through a shape in the sky, a breeze at the right moment, or a pause that lets me feel present again.</p>.<p>In the hospital’s windowless room I gazed at the ceiling listlessly. Then I heard the call of the cuckoo; at once I felt lighter and optimistic, as that was my dad’s whistling tune. I remember another afternoon in Digboi, Assam. I wanted to see the old chaang bungalows, those beautiful wooden houses built on stilts, but the rain pelted, and everything outside my window looked hazy. Disappointed, I began scrolling through WhatsApp messages while the rain drummed on. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the rain stopped. When I looked out again, there it was — a rainbow stretched across the sky in a perfect arc, as if apologising for the earlier downpour.</p>.<p>Different experiences and moments create a garland of happiness. A cup of chai with a friend, a lingering conversation, or a joke may seem ordinary when they happen, yet they are often the memories that stay the longest. They give life its warmth and depth. A peacock in the park may not appear every day, but beauty is never far away. It lives in nature, in human connection, in quiet pauses, and in unexpected moments of wonder.</p><p><em>Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.</em></p>
