In the summer of our life there is a lot of foliage
Giving the impression that our personal domain is vast
It is a time when we show the world all that we have
A fanfare of expansion
The foliage of fame
Our achievements and acquisitions
Filling out a space we claim personal credit for
When the most glorious display of all
Comes with its colours of red, orange, yellow,
Such fascinating beauty
Yet it is a sign of the inner vitality drying up
A sign of the approaching reduction and withdrawal
In the season of the fall
When the decorations of our life fall away
When all we have accomplished
Is being surpassed by the new generation
Our record breaking has been broken
Our knowing has been appropriated
Our technologies are outdated
Our story is not the new story
And it seldom gets written into history
All that we have accomplished
All that we have possessed
All that we have given our name to
And all we assumed gave us value
Shall be revealed in its emptiness
What really remains of you now
What became of the inner essence of self
The ultimate true treasure
Forgotten in the wild frenzy
Of trying to be someone in the world
We came in search for our own unknown
Saw the world and presented back a costume
The hidden realm within
Put aside for a cheap applause
Till comes the season of the fall
What was a strong vibrant green
Burst into a bright array of flame colours
Now withers, dry, crisp and fragile
A light breeze is enough to strip off the mask
Though a storm is yet to come
And test the inner being
The stamina of your spirit
Must cross the falling season
May you accumulate peace
Now, while you can
– Shiv Charan Singh
Another poem from my teacher Shiv Charan Singh
No amount of splashing in a bathtub
Prepares you to face the waves of the ocean