Cycling to see the sunflower field in the countryside.

The past week has been quite weird in terms of energy and strange vibes in the environment. I realised that its almost Chinese New Year Day. So, the flying stars’ energies have started shifting on the grand scale which would affect all living beings on earth. This was reflected in major and important watershed events in Thai political scene and possibly in Europe (concerning the spreading of farmers’ protests). But I was more concerned about the happenings in my country which could signal some unexpected changes here. Looking at news headlines and reading between the lines, several social critics had indicated future upheaval.

Simple life in the countryside was blessed with green surroundings and birds’ songs in the morning. It seemed that the whole village came down with a bad cold. I also succumbed to a heavy bout of flu from traveling on the train. It took almost a week to recover from the deliberating symptoms. So, I couldn’t do any heavy work around the house or garden. But on the sixth day, I went mad on tidying up the storage room. It was heavy work as those boxes were quite heavy and I had about thirty boxes to be organised on shelves. I did accomplished 95% of the work.

I tested my strength earlier in the afternoon by cycling along the countrylanes. My gardener told me that there’s a sunflower field opening to the public with food stalls and spots for taking selfies. During my illness, I could hardly eat anything as the food tasted very bad. I thought I could perhaps get some lunch and ice cream at the sunflower show. My hopes were high as I cycled past green fields.

To my surprise, the whole area was very quiet with very few visitors. We had unexpected rain during the last two days so the sky was looking cloudy which might put off visitors. But I preferred to have the whole place less crowded so I could walk slowly with my bicycle. The sunflowers were quite impressive; they would look more beautiful under bright sunshine.

The local area authority started this sunflower field project to attract tourists to the village. This could help with local economy and increasing money flows to stimulate the overall local economy. But they didn’t expect two days of heavy rain. However, I still thought the sunflowers did very well despite the rain.

The bamboo paths made it easier for visitors to take selfies among the sunflowers. The sunflower field was much bigger than I had expected. I couldn’t help wondering the amount of water used to grow these flowers. Luckily, the water used was pumped up from the nearby river along the small viaduct.

I walked along the food stall eager to get some food. Unfortunately, the vendors only catered for locals’ preferences for spicy food! I was sorely disappointed as I couldn’t take the sour and spicy food. The stick food was mainly for pork eaters too. There was no edible snacks for me either; ice cream became a far fetched dream for me. The vendors looked quite disappointed as I didn’t buy anything.

I knew I had to get back to the kitchen to make a quick omelette instead. The ability of these local people to eat food with twenty chili without any reaction of the taste buds simply puzzled me indefinitely. My taste bud would react to one chili with severe burning sensation for hakf an hour. How could there be such a stark difference! I wished I could have been able to at least take three chili in my food without any suffering.

During my illness, time seemed to flow by slower and space in my mind seemed to be expanded. The past week has been disorientating, the world around me seemed to become very still. My sense of reality was awkward as if I wasn’t connected to this reality. At the sunflower field, I felt like an alien from outer planet sightseeing the earth. I was an stranger trying hard to become an earthling like others. But I couldn’t really fit in, no matter how hard I tried. I continued to be the odd one out, the black sheep that had to wear a white coat to stay invisible.

How the mind and consciousness must have been affected by high fever and under physical discomfort. But I could still feel that something has changed in the atmosphere. It was as if a new turn over a a new constellation was affecting all the energy flows and their precious balances. Things, invisible things are changing drastically but silently beneath the calm surface.

I reminder myself to be grateful that I was still alive and could travel around safely. But I shouldn’t take all the usual or normal routine activities for granted. There’s a new sense of urgency to be preparing for uncertainty in the future. I wondered whether someone else could feel this way too.

It was nice to see villagers and some visitors coming out to the enjoy the sunflowers. We ought to grap all the beautiful moments as often as we could and enjoy life everyday.

Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.

Stay strong and cheerful.