Ecstasy

The smell of raindrops on wet earth, a surprise gift of a bouquet of roses, all these leave us feeling truly ecstatic.
For author Truman Capote, Ecstasy was ' ideal apple eating weather, white sunlight descending from the purest sky, and a rustling easterly wind.'
In today's competitive world, success and money evoke the same feelings of ecstasy. However, a little scratching beneath the surface, and what one finds is, that for most humans, ecstasy lies in the simple pleasures of life.
For many, Hope is the only ecstasy in their otherwise bleak existence. The soldier who lost a limb or an arm in a war, makes his world go round with the power of Hope.
Contentment is another virtue that leaves many a soul ecstatic. Truly loving their lives and accepting happily whatever life doles out to them, can also make people feel high on life.
Ecstasy assumes different connotations for the youth all over the world. For some, it is the sense of achievement on getting that dream job or that elusive dream college admission. For many others, it is MDMA, the drug which holds many young people in its grip, wrecking irreparable damage on their nervous systems and rendering them dependent on it.
Ecstasy is also the very same emotion or feeling evoked by Akbar's court musician Tansen in his ragas, that used to make even the heavens open up in reverence.
But, what is Ecstasy without the Agony ?
Vincent Van Gogh grappled with these conflicting emotions when he was on the throes of insanity and was creating masterpieces at the same time. Similarly, a mother does not see the face of her newborn without enduring the agonizing pain of childbirth.
In the end, what makes life worth living, are the little moments of ecstasy encountered in our everyday life, which must be savoured and enjoyed.