The first monsoon rains

I’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the monsoon rains for weeks. Till now, the rains have been the Mickey Mouse variety. Mostly brought by pot luck winds that blow along the South Westerly direction that originate from China deep within the Gobi desert.

Today the winds suddenly shifted to the North Easterly direction and stayed true for the whole day – soon they brought with it, the first monsoon rains all the way from the Andaman seas stretching all the way back to the Himalayas. These rains are warm and nitrogen rich unlike the chilled South Westerly rains, they can open the floodgates of heaven for hours on end. They bring both blessings and curses. From today onwards it will rain like today.

The question now is how long will these rains last?

It is hard to say, the Brahmins in the village temple of Kali say Uranus is too far out of it’s orbit and it’s creating loads of nervous energy – they continue to insist April will be bone dry. Even the village bomoh who has been offering alms in the form of coconuts to make rain concur with the Brahmins. As for the highland tribesmen, their shaman say the oracle is on the blink this year – that’s tribal code for ‘let’s cover our ass.’

I need to be wise to read this season for what it is and not what others say it is. Last year was a walk in the park. I managed to get 8 out of 10 without even trying. Did it by just following the textbook approach. But I reckon, this year judging from the siaowness of mother nature when the year started is likely to test my mettle as a farmer to renewed heights of hardship.

I need to remain very calm and patient and not rush impulsively into anything….if I play my cards right, I can still reverse many of my mistakes in the beginning of the year and turn a lousy situation into a bountiful harvest.

That’s how life is. It’s NEVER about getting it spot on all the time. The only people I know in the whole world who keep insisting they are infallible and beyond reproach is the PAP. Not that anyone believes them – truth is it’s not always possible to get it ALL right, not unless you’re a reincarnation of Nostradamus – all one can really do in life is strive to get most of it right and as for those aspects of the plan that took a wrong turn, they just need to be worked on to get them to work right….life I am reminded has more do with RECOVERY, than getting it right the first time.

Recovering from an unexpected set back that just hits you on the blind side when everything is just cruising along smoothly…wham! You’re down for the count!

It’s all about your capacity to recover.

Doesn’t matter what it is, bad debts, a lousy business deal, a poisonous relationship, terminal cancer or even if you just stuck in a rut…IT’S REALLY ONLY ABOUT HOW WELL YOU CAN RECOVER FROM THAT SHITTY POSITION….recovering from a bad investment that threatens to wipe you out….recovering from a failure and getting your confidence and courage back again to try one more time….it’s all about how well one can recover and it’s never ever about getting it spot on the first time! Never!

I must be deadly calm and above all patient….above all I must

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‘Now that the winds have changed suddenly. My friends (the birds) will begin their long and trecherous flight across the Straits from Sumatra. They were not able to do this earlier as the South Westerly was against them – now the winds are with them, they will prepare for their marathon flight across the windswept Straits soon – it is hardly a matter of choice, fires have been raging in the Indonesian archipelago, soon the choking wall of smoke will make a fist and strike the birds one by one from the skies….they will all have to flee.

It is the good that the monsoon has come just about now, it is only two days after the full moon – my friends will have no trouble making their way here with the moon beam lighting up the many river routes from high above. Last night, I put up laterns to guide them safely home….a home to rest and fatten up.’