Pixels, thoughts, words…

 My journal entry, now in words and a little bit of memory.

“Should have been born as a tree, maintaining its uprightness even when all the leaves were withered.

Humans often falter at this stage.”

I wrote this during one of my low times—a kind of withering stage in life.

You know, those days when everything feels a bit heavy, and even staying steady feels like a task. That day, it was this tree that gave me a small lesson—about uprightness. The art of thriving, quietly.

The picture here is from our Kodaikanal trip—me, Appa, Amma and Appa’s friend’s family.

I didn’t click this. Most probably it was taken by Kanishka—Appa’s friend’s youngest daughter. She’s much younger than me, part of Generation Alpha. She loves posing and taking photos, and knows her way around my mobile camera better than I do! She feels more like a little sister to me.

As for me—I don’t click well. I prefer words over pixels.

Yes, there’s a famous line—“Pictures speak louder than words.”

I don’t argue with that. But for me, it’s always:

Pixels → Thoughts → Words.

I like to use words to capture what I feel when I look at something.

Now imagine that tree—from a tiny sprout to something tall, bare, and still standing. It has embraced every season—spring’s warmth, summer’s blaze, autumn’s fall, and winter’s chill. With only the sky as its shelter.

It’s not easily broken—not by someone’s touch, not by a passing season. Even when it’s empty, it doesn’t fall. It just stays—rooted and upright.

Steady. Calm. Strong.

It doesn’t try to compete. It simply is—rooted, still.

It doesn’t really say anything. But just by standing there, it quietly reminds us—Don’t let every storm shake you from within. Seasons will come and go, but that doesn’t mean you have to lose who you are.

Just stay upright. Chin up. Smile.

That’s the biggest wealth we may ever have. Uprightness!

That’s the pixel. My thoughts. My words.