On beauty and grief…
Do you know the feeling you get when you see birds flying across the water and there is a magnificent sunset in the backdrop? Or when you see beautiful flowers blossoming and colourful butterflies fluttering around them? Or when you see the reflection of the moon on a lake? Or perhaps when you see a beautiful piece of architecture? Or maybe when you listen to a soulful, heart-warming song sung melodiously by someone? This feeling, when you see something so beautiful that you have no words to accurately describe them, is sometimes mystical, transcendental or out of this world. Japanese have a word for the mystical feeling you get when you see, hear or feel something beautiful. It’s called Yūgen. What a beautiful word this is!
How many times do we land in places that make us feel the presence of something external, something mysterious, extraordinary maybe, a heavenly feeling, something transcendent and magical? A place that not only takes our breath away but our grief too. When was the last time you went to a place where you were left in awe of the beauty - when you felt like all your problems disappeared?
I recently went to Aotearoa. Aotearoa is the Māori name for New Zealand. What an absolutely beautiful country NZ is! Every corner of NZ is laced with beauty, culture, and history. We were in Queenstown when we had to leave for our next destination at 5 am on New Year’s Day. Who in the right mind would want to wake up at 4 am on New Year’s Day after a big night out on New Year’s Eve? I was in no mood to open my eyes at 4 am and leave Queenstown (which is another enigma in itself - perhaps a talk of another day) for our next destination.
Contrary to my rant about ruining New Year’s by waking up at the crack of dawn, I started my 2023 with the most heavenly experience. Situated within the bounds of Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Māori) or famously known as Milford Sound is truly the epitome of beauty. Milford Sound is 15 kilometres long stretch of deep water, surrounded by lush, green forests which are home to quite a range of wildlife. The famous author, Rudyard Kipling, unofficially referred to Milford Sound as the eighth wonder of the world. Despite its name, Milford Sound is a fiord, not a sound. A fiord is a glacier-carved valley, whereas a sound is a valley formed out of river erosion. There are many ways to view and admire the beauty of this place such as by flights, kayaks or boats - we chose a boat cruise.
With half-open eyes, I boarded the boat cruise on the morning of 1 January and thought that this three hours cruise is my chance to sleep. Little did I know that I would hold my gaze steady on the top floor of the cruise throughout those three hours. It is said that Milford Sound is beautiful in every season but the place looks magnificent during rain, which is very popular in this area. Fortunately or unfortunately, I did not get to experience it during rain. It was a bright, sunny, gorgeous day.
The jetty where we boarded our cruise. Does it look like I am going on a magical journey?
Milford Sound had something stimulating for all my five senses. I had not seen something as beautiful as this before - the low-hanging clouds and mist over the high cliffs with lush greenery and snow-white waterfalls made it a perfect sight to behold. White magical glacial water, cascading through the mountains, pounding on the rocks, and landing on the ever-precious emerald-teal fiord, was not only a pleasure to my eyes but also offered a soothing, soulful rhythm to my ears. It was accompanied by the exquisite aroma of fresh water. My skin was stimulated by the cold breeze that was constantly blowing my hair away and by the cold tiny water droplets that sprayed on my face from the waterfalls. And how can I forget the feeling of the scintillating sun on my skin? Are you wondering how I am going to bring my taste buds into this? A cold windy day comes with a hot coffee! Our cruise offered us some really yummy hot chocolate and coffee and snacks which made the experience all the more enjoyable.
While admiring the beauty of the place, a thought crossed my mind - I was angry about something two hours ago, someone did something - what was the thing and why was I worried about it? There are times when we get caught up in life’s trivialities, a fight with a friend or a sibling, a fight with your spouse over dirty dishes, trivial life admin tasks or minor setbacks and we lose perspective of what is most important. Sometimes, we lose our sense of self when our problems get too big to handle. On that bright morning, on the top floor of the deck, I let myself get absorbed by the beauty of this place and resuscitate my sense of self which had gotten lost in the humdrum of life.
Māori Culture regards nature as their mother and land, soil, and water as their taonga (treasure). They have a strong spiritual connection to their land. The culture places the highest value on nature and many of Māori folklore revolve around nature. Apart from Māori, there are several other cultures across the globe that place a high value on the healing abilities of our natural world. The world is such a beautiful place - it is tranquil, sometimes beneath our understanding. It has healing abilities and that is why you feel much better when you have been in nature. It is as if you give all your problems to this place and this place absorbs them and only gives love and peace in return. Shouldn’t that be a big enough reason to protect our natural world and spend more time in nature?
Cruising around Milford Sound has been the most tranquil experience of my life - therapeutic in all ways. It gave me a feeling of yūgen - I felt a connection with something extraordinary, something out of this world. My heart was beating louder than ever yet it was at peace at the same time.
Every possible combination of words in the dictionary or photos or videos could not evoke as strong feelings of magic in my heart as being in the place did. No wonder why people recommend travel. I strongly recommend taking a trip to Milford Sound. It is about a three hours drive from the beautiful Queenstown in the South Island of NZ. Be prepared to be mesmerised and remain spell bounded for days by the beauty of Milford Sound. Feel free to message me if you need any recommendations on South Island, NZ or Milford Sound or if you would simply like to talk about beauty and grief.