Welcome 2015 !

Anna and I want to wish you a fruitful new year !

The custard apple tree in our garden was damaged in the storm last year. However, it sprang back to life with one branch growing out of the main stem. To our surprise, even that branch bore some fruits during this season. We were able to have them for ourselves and share with those who help us in the farm. The two fruits that are remaining would be hopefully ripen by the time Amy, Arpit and their arrive shortly!  

How refreshing it is to know that life is a gift given to us to bear fruits!

A family who came to visit me for consultation told us as they were leaving, 'we go back touched by the hospitality we received here'. They said this in response to one of my colleagues who went out of her way to befriend them when they had difficulty to find their way through the hospital to go to different counters for registration, payment, investigations, etc. 

We have an occasion to care and share kindness each time we meet with others. We hope all of us can make that as our way of living!

The boy who gave away his five loaves and two pieces of fish cared for those who were hungry and showed kindness when a messenger from Jesus of Nazareth requested for his dinner packet! He did his little and Jesus multiplied it!

Let us make doing little acts of kindness a habit!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Farewell 2014!

This wayside anger which Anna and I noticed on our recent road trip held our attention. This was erected in the lawn of a house on the road side. It simulated the original gospel narration of the nativity scene. I wish the Christmas father was not included just as the Christmas tree was left out!

This manger scene brought back memories of 2014. Our lives begin the journey with a physical birth and a spiritual birth. The physical birth is often in a hospital and the spiritual birth is a personal experience of God consciousness through welcoming Jesus and His teaching in one's life. 

I like the kneeling and bowing position of all the visitors to the manger in this manger scene. The Church of Nativity at Bethlehem has a narrow door at its entrance that one can enter the church only by bowing with bent knees. 

Our journey into the expanse of the spiritual odyssey begins with with humility of heart and an attitude of submission to godly ways in our lives. 

For Anna and myself, the year 2014 was full of peeks and valley experiences all of which gave us a reason to live, belong and be occupied. We are touched by the kindness we received from people. A friend telephoned yesterday that he remembered us during this season because I was recovering from my heart surgery last year around this time. Life is enriched by such memories and relationships.

We begin our journey at the manger and return to it all the time because, it 'in God we live, move and have our being' .

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

An year with its highs!

There are many things that have pleasantly occupied us during the last year. Anna and I have been most encouraged by friendships with some students and the opportunities it created to have times of conversation and fellowship. It was a pleasure to have been present for the Christmas celebrations of their hostels.

As I recall the dynamics of relationships with students during the last year, I find three interesting aspect of student life. 

Most students are looking for guidance to plan their time and and choose their involvements. The 23 students who pursued short term student research projects were waiting to be asked to do something that was challenging and creative. That became our point of contact with them and gave us several occasions to have times of personal chats. That was a neutral starting point. 

I decided to convert the formal lectures to an exploratory learning exercise for them. There were group discussions, presentations, discussions around clinical scenarios, recollections of personal stories, etc. I planned a participatory approach to retain their attention in the post lunch hour lecture. But it turned out to be a genuine experience of learning by enquiry and reflection. Student are open to innovative experiences of learning. 

Most students think and act as a group. They so like the peer interactions that they like to explore new ideas if they can be doing it together. This naturally created leadership skills in some of them. It was easier to have contacts and interaction with some of them who had this formative influence on the rest of the group. To influence students and foster their formation, it is necessary to identify the natural leaders who influence the peers. 

For Anna and myself, we needed their friendships to feel at home where we were strangers when we arrived two years back!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Family time at Christmas!

Anna and Sophie, our aunt both have their birthdays in December. From the time of advent in church calendar in December, the season of Christmas brings many memories to all of us. 

One memory would be all about family times on Christmas day.

Somehow the manger scene which is a popular meditation theme during this season brings in to focus the family ties which gets renewed at  every Christmas time. 

The family ties are too changing with times. During my childhood days, it was common to exchange frequent visits between families during the year. But now most families try if they can come together during Christmas or Easter. 

 These two Christ entered historical events continue to be the celebration times in the families!

In fact families derive the inspiration for the net work of relationships from Christmas and Easter because both epitomise the loving nature of God revealed through Jesus. The language of every family communication is love because God is still reminding us of it by drawing all of us into HIs loving embrace!

For Anna and myself this Christmas is yet another time we remember many family events with gratitude. Amy and Arpit were blessed with a baby boy in November. That creates within us an ambience of love and gratitude!

We are being formed through our relationships in our families!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

'His star in the east' !

It was a star which the wise men (Mat.2.2), who specialised in astrology, medicine and natural science that led them to come to Herod, the King. They enquired about Jesus whose birth was announced through the appearance of the star. 

The star awakened the curiosity of Herod; the wise men arrived at Bethlehem to worship Jesus following the star. The star became a source of agitation for Herod and he set out to destroy all boys below 2 years in Bethlehem. 

The star is a sign of hope for many and a reason for anger for some. This continues to be the same even today. 

In Micah 5:2, the prophesy, 'For out of Bethlehem shall come forth a ruler, who will shepherd my people of Israel' is a good news that has refreshed many who waited for God's visitation and disturbed others who got provoked by the life and message of a  Shepherd who showed the way of love by self-giving.

What makes many to be critical of the message of Jesus is that it calls for humility of heart and integrity of conduct!

The wise men 'fell down and worshipped Jesus and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh'. 

The Christmas season is a time to open our treasures and consider what is symbolised in what we keep dear to ourselves. They become the best gifts for Jesus. 

For Nihal, a seven years old boy, his pencil with pictures of the maps of different countries was what he considered as a treasure. After hearing the story of wise men read at the family prayer time on  the  Christmas eve, Nihal presented his pencil to Ravi, the son of their domestic helper. Nihal mentioned that, He felt God's love and wanted to share the joy of the coming of Jesus!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo) 

Party games can restore you !

I look forward to  party games when there are social gatherings because, participating in them gives a relaxing experiences that lasts for a while.

It is good to have times set part for party games even in families. Some how we accumulate stress due to demands at work, pressure of assignments, misunderstanding in relationships, disappointments, etc. 

While playing a game, the fun it generates in the group has a social de-stressing  effect.

I remember how at the end of the evening of these fun games, the whole group of twenty five students were full of smiles. They did not get inhibited by an examination that they had to be ready for on the next day!

The social milieu that we live in can be made friendly, relational and reflective though such times. Most of us fold up socially and emotionally when the social environment is demanding, unfriendly or indifferent. 

The educational environment in a college can be such a place where every person is catching up with some assignment or other. Some even would  feel like being on a conveyer belt, unable to find a personal pace for well being.

We need socially refreshing times to feel well and refreshed! Anna and I feel grateful that some students include us in their social gatherings. It makes a world of difference to us in our campus life!

M.C.Mathew( photo by Anna)

Formative friendships!

I have many memories of this happy occasion when Tarun and Leah brought their daughter Ishita for baptism to their home church. Both Tarun and Leah were socially at their best reaching out to relatives and friends announcing the joy unspeakable about the experience of becoming parents and the delight of being able to publicly commit themselves to bring up the baby in the knowledge and fear of God.

Tarun and Leah are friendly, welcoming and caring. They both are specialist consultants whose competency and skills are highly regarded and trusted. 

What brought into focus at this occasion were their joyful spirit which is charming, inspiring and affirming. 

I have memories of their undergraduate days as well. They built relationships to last. They formed opinions on contemporary issues by their presence and interactions. They left tangible impressions on others through their caring conduct  in the women's and men's hostels. 

Tarun was the one who brought me prior to my bypass surgery a print out about all that a heart patient  ought to remember during the post surgery rehabilitation. It is now one year since the surgery and I am glad that I have had that personal education about what to expect from Tarun.

I heard from Tarun recently that he is planning to interview professors who retired from the Christian Medical College to gather their stories for the the students to mull over. 

Every  institution has many formative stories. There is a need for us to be story tellers for using them to develop formative friendships with others.!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

After dinner conversation !

After a recent dinner get-together with some students, the conversations turned to another direction with one of the students asking Anna and myself questions about ourselves- 'Why did you choose Paediatrics as your specialty'!  

I had chosen and got myself trained in public health after my graduation. For two years before I graduated, I was fascinated by a teacher who brought new understanding about community health, She motivated us about the need to enlarge the base of primary health coverage in India. It was 1970 and the tertiary care culture had not overtaken even the metropolitan cities. Those who can afford went abroad at that time for specialised treatment. Others had to be content with what some well run medical college hospitals could offer. 

I began my working life with a stint at the Medical college at Sevagram, working under Dr. Sushila Nayyar, the head of the community medicine department. Following an outbreak of Measles and several children dying, she mentioned to me that community physicians need specialisation in Paediatrics or Maternal and child Health. This made sense and I moved on for training in Paediatrics and later in Maternal and Child Health at the end of which Anna and I moved to the Christian Medical College, Vellore, where I worked mostly in Neonatology service.

It was during that time I became aware of the outcome of the perinatal complications of infants leading to cerebral palsy, convulsions, microcephaly, etc. Once a mother asked me, 'why did you treat my son's jaundice at birth, if you knew that he would have microcephaly and spasticity later'! It was that question along with some experiences which initiated me on my journey into developmental paediatrics. During the last thirty four years, I have been on a journey to make a difference in the lives of children who were developmentally disadvantaged. A fulfilling and learning journey of great significance!

The after dinner conversation turned out to be a refreshing recollection time for me. Every time I was unsettled to move on, life became an adventure. I am glad for new frontiers opened in my life, by others asking me disturbing questions.

Choose movement in life and not settlement- that is how we can turn  life into an opportunity!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

A manger as their dwelling place!

This house in one of the villages of Yelagiri close to the YMCA campus drew my attention while going on my morning walk.

It was 7 am in the morning and the only sign of someone inside the ouse was the pair of chapels near the grinding stone. One half of the house is a store house for green leaves used as fodder for the cattle and the other half which is smaller is family's space for their use. 

While waiting to see any movement of children or adults in the house, I noticed a woman coming back with a pot of water in her head and another one in her hand. The cock and few hens were moving around the house. 

The bamboo mat was the shutter for the door and the straw roof was discontinuous on the back which was patched up with a plastic sheet. 

It needs no imagination to guess the economic and social status of the family who lives in this house. 

As one of the houses close by had a star hung outside, my thoughts lingered around the manger where  Jesus was born. 

We create anger scenes and stage nativity plays at this time of Christmas in th hope that it would bring us to meditate on the humble birth of Jesus.

However, I wish, we would take our children, friends and colleagues to participate in the story of people who in live in manger like settings deprived of comforts without which we cannot live. 

It is often the Christmas father who is the most visible sight in a manger scene erected in homes and public places telling that we long for gifts during Christmas season! 

Father Davies, well respected for his self giving act of donating a kidney to save a stranger,  giving his Christmas message at the MOSC medical college last week said, that 'the message of Christmas is that Jesus became small from being God and became a being among humans. We need to journey from being a human being to a being among humans. That is when the story of incarnation of Christmas is made real' !

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

A smile that makes your day!

Anna and I were greeted by Elias and his fourteen months old daughter Joanna, at the car park a few days back. Seeing us Joanna smiled profusely which disarmed us of our hurry to go to the  the biometric reader to punch our arrival on time.

On several occasions this smile returned to me during the day. It brought refreshment as I recollected the self-giving, captivating and affectionate smile which was freely gifted to us  in the morning. 

I have often thought of the smile of a child as a treasurable gift because it is genuinely a message of joy and gladness. 

A child is carefree while growing up in  a secure and caring environment . Such children would spontaneously convey the inner fullness of happiness. The smile is an overflow of the inner wellness and contentment!

Men and women are desperate for happiness for which they strive and struggle! They drive themselves to find happiness only to discover often that they have exhausted themselves by trying.   

The sense of wellness or contentment or gladness is a gift that others bring to us. At the first Christmas at Bethlehem, the shepherds who 'stayed out' watching over their flock at night were greeted by an angel that Christ the saviour was born for them! They were overjoyed by this after an initial sense of fear. They set out to see this baby because they wanted to celebrate this joy. 

God gives us joy so that we can gift it away to others. The more we share joy with others the more we become joyful. It is only as much as we turn the focus to make others joyful, we can experience  the fullness of joy!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

From research to Fellowship!

Anna has been mentoring a group of 23 students, most of them from the batch of 2011at the MOSC Medical College, in helping them develop their skills in research. All of them completed a short student research project. Some of them submitted their projects to ICMR and few others presented their study in conferences or published in journals. The last one year or so this group has become a cohesive, interactive and mutually supportive friends who share a lot more than research interest between themselves.  

They got together for an evening of fellowship last week. Anna and I felt honoured to have been together with them for an evening of games, sharing and story telling. We felt drawn by their enthusiasm, warmth and regards. They touched us with their affection and kindness. The several conversation we have with them and their friends when we meet informally make us feel valued and younger!

We are encouraged by more more faculty coming forward to be involved with students. Now there is an art club, social service club, nature lover's club, entertainment club, etc. The faculty associated with these clubs would make a significant t contribution to their formative process. 

It is now about two decades Anna and I have been associated with medical students during our tenure in medical schools. One impression we carry with us form our experience is this: reach out to students and they would  surprise us by their responsiveness to discover their hidden resources for their personal development. 

Every teacher in a medical college is also an enabler to make students grow into their full potential!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

A dog's cat nap!

An ultrashort sleep is what we mean by a cat nap.  It is universally common in humans and animals. During this short period there is a recuperation in an unusual way leading to refreshed alertness and sense of well being in the body!

I have been used to practicing five occasions of three minutes of becoming bodily quiet and mentally still, during which time, sometimes I fall asleep for a  minute or so, following which I wake up as if I am getting up in the morning after a good sleep. 

We are people of intense physical and mental pursuit of activities during which time, we spend our energy physically and emotionally. We feel when we talk, listen, discuss, or disagree. These feelings arouse a cascade of neuro-metabolic changes which we can switch off during a cat nap. We have an awakened consciousness following the times of quietness. 

I now find that a short period of quietness before and after a difficult conversation can restore the emotional state. We feel more ready to face a difficult situation if we can overcome the emotional upheaval that precedes the anticipated confronting or demanding situation. 

Life is a series of one minute events. To be able to take charge of our minutes is a challenge! However that is the way we can live with a sense of presence. 

Three of us after walking silently in a park for a while afterwards we sat down to share our experiences. One of them had seen, heard and felt lot more than both of us. How did that happen! He told us that he refused to be dragged away by his thoughts during that walk but  tuned his senses to the walking experience! That is a state of enlightened living! 

This form of practising sense of presence increases God consciousness and mindfulness towards others! 

M.C.Mathew (Text and photo)

   

Gifts of Nature!

I was with a group of faculty from CMC Vellore recently on a two day get together with them at Yelagiri. It was a delightful time to observe how different people receive and respond to nature's gifts!

During the two days, most  of them naturally got formed in to different groups of nature explorers. There were  trekkers, bird watchers, tree lovers, rock climbers, water conservationalists, etc. 

At breakfast time this group, whose photograph is above, was engaged in watching birds and photographing them. Listening to them, I was fascinated by the information each of them contributed about Parrots. They had more information than what a bird would book would condense in a paragraph. 

Following this conversation, I sat with three of them at breakfast table during which time the conversation continued on how their interest in bird watching grew from their childhood. 

One of them mentioned that birds live from nature and nature is God's gift to them. They fend for themselves each day from nature's bounty. The nature has enough for millions of birds. Of course birds also have territorial control and can be protective from other birds invading their territory. However, birds live from the produce of the earth, which provides enough for all birds. 

A surgeon mentioned that this consciousness helped him to share the surgical opportunities among his colleagues equally. This is unlike in many surgical departments, where some senior surgeons usurp the opportunities of others by their insistence to do all the major surgeries themselves. So his surgical team works cordially complementing each other. They share the joy of working together. There is enough  for every surgeon teach day to do, to stay abreast with his operating skills.  

It is when we are in touch with what is going on around us, something from what we observe can speak to us and initiate a change process.  

Stay in touch the outside to grow in awareness of our inner self!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)