Childhood environment

 Reflection - 4                                           FACES OF A FLOWER                                          

One of the advantages, of taking time to look at what is around us, is that, it can awaken a new consciousness  about  realities. That is what happened recently, when I was sunbathing in the garden on a cold morning, while spending a short time with a family on a holiday. I discovered the different appearances of a flower, when viewed from different positions in the garden.  This rose flower looked differently, with the sun and shadow falling on it.  They are the different faces of this flower.

The rose did not change, but the changes in the environment brought about differences in the way the flower was visualized. This is true of us as well. If there is a lot of goodness and care we have been used to, we reflect that. Instead, if we have had had hostility and anger to cope with, we communicate the effects of that in our relationships. If we feel oppressed or exploited, we convey a spirit of defeat or rebellion. We too have different faces, as humans depending on the impact of the environment upon us.

I am familiar with a project for children, living in the slums of a city in central India. The children were exposed to the alcoholic abuse of their parents and the quarrels arising out of it. They grew up in an ambience of hunger, anger, violence,  deprivation and chronic debt. Many children either did not go to school or dropped out of school. A small group of volunteers started play groups and early learning centers for children and self-employment initiatives for women, about 15 years back. Most who joined these play groups have gone on to complete schooling and are in different vocational schools or at colleges for further learning. The women through various handicrafts projects and cottage industry rescued their families from debt trap and disaster. Many men have been rescued from substance abuse. The most significant change was noticed in the children.  Children benefitting from the project  have  had a different outlook to life.  

The philosophy of the volunteers was that, give children a comfortable, stable, and nurturing environment they will reflect it when they grow up. The effort to change the circumstances have yielded returns.  

We owe to our society to be fecilitators of change in our environment. The environment has a defining role on who we shall become. There is a counter culture a small group can initiate, by collaborative effort. A little salt is enough to flavour the food; a little yeast is enough in a cake mix to make it rise; a little light is enough to show the way. 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)