'Come and Visit'- President to strangers

Former president of india, Dr. Abdul Kalam, whose funeral would take place at his home village today would be remembered for his large heart and brilliant mind. 

Dr. Kalam after inaugurating an international conference on child development and disability at New Delhi in 2008, happened to meet some of us in the faculty as he was leaving the conference venue. He turned to us and said, 'come and visit me tomorrow at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Let us talk about our common interest to help children with special needs'.

The arrangements for eight of us to visit him  the next afternoon was made by his office and we spent about five hours at the Rashtrapati Bhavan with him. He took us around the garden, where there was a meditation seat overlooking the garden and the distant panaroma. He spent about half an hour each day sitting in that place in recollection and prayer. For him, prayer was recalling life in gratitude and growing in inner preparedness to love and serve. He took us to the library which was getting digitalised at that time. He showed us around the important and historical rooms of the palatial palace.

The most memorable time was about the three hours of conversation when he patiently listened to the biographical stories of each of us and turned to his own personal story. He recalled a childhood story of his class being taken to the beach near his elementary school in the village. The teacher of mathematics pointing to the vast sky seems to have said, you learn numbers by counting the stars in the sky at night. It was this fascinating sight of the sky that stimulated him to study science that would take him into research later! 

He told me at that time he was keen to visit CMC Vellore, which he did later. 

He served his nation with dignity and grace!

Listening!

I have often returned to this photograph to meditate on listening skills. The body language in this photo reflects the mood of intense listening!

The look, facial gesture, body posture, emotional response and the ambience communicate the listening intent and process!

Every time I have to listen to families who have a story to tell about their children, I realise how stories can be long winding and peripheral that I lose the patience to listen! And yet on those occasions, when I have patiently processed the story, there was a truth that was central to understanding the needs of the family. 

Listening involves being present unconditionally! It is therapeutic when we listen to a person with openness. Those of us who are habitually required to listen need occasions for debriefing and silence to inwardly prepare ourselves to be receptive!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo) 

Drops of water!

For a photographer, drops of water on leaves and flowers is a big theme for photoshoot! Taking photos of water drops is a challenging exercise, especially if you do not have an access to a tripod. The wind sways the flowers and it would often make many water drops out of focus as it is in this photo. 

What is special is the sight of drops of water hanging just before they fall off! 

It is a pleasure to watch how the water drop falls off a leaf or flower. It leaves a leaf or flower gently! 

I wish all events in life carry such a gentle character, particularly all relationships!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

A sight that surprised me!

While it was drizzling, I happened to be walking in the garden. What I saw surprised me! A moth is out in the open in its outing in the drizzle! It was so small that I almost missed it!

Somehow small things hold your attention because of its special status in nature! In a huge expanse of space there exists a small moth which too is safe and secure!

How refreshing it was for me to return from the morning walk with an inner resonance that all of us are under the watchful eyes of a God who does not slumber or sleep!

M.C.Mathew( text and photo)

Left handedness!

One of the challenges I face in my work is helping parents to accept the left handedness of their children. There are physiological reasons for them to choose left hand as the dominant hand for activities of daily living. It can be also because of an insult to the left side of the brain that a child is forced to use left hand. 

In either case the family, neighbours and all those who watch a child use the left hand feel pressured to force a child use the right hand even when a child is conditioned physiologically or due to an insult to use the left hand!

I have been keen to find the reason for this compulsive insistence for a child to use the right hand for daily living activities. The best explanation I have so far come across is that culturally we are made to to think that the left hand is a 'dirty hand' and the right and is the 'good hand'!

Many children who have clumsy handwriting or struggle to eat from a plate without spilling are those who were originally destined to be left handers but made to use the right hand from early childhood. Even after years of efforts they have not been able to master the dexterous skills with the right hand!

I wish parents, teachers and rest of us would be freed form our cultural bondage and release children to use their preferred hand with no interference or prejudice !

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

Slender and strong!

The monsoon season is a time to find some surprises in nature!

I found a spider web held strong to this plant  inspite of wind and rain. The other end was at a five feet distance. The spider was still in the process of completing its mission.

What apparently looks to be slender and fragile can also be resilient and strong.

There is the strength of power, which those in authority and position lord it over others. There is also the strength of conviction, which can stand up to power and control. The stories of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and Mother Teresa illustrate this. 

What appears slender and weak externally can be otherwise because of inner courage of conviction!

To such belong the opportunity to initiate change for the benefit of others! The Right To Information Act, which is a restraint against corruption is one such social change which came in to being because some activists relied on their conviction! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Colours and designs !

I am fascinated by what we can find in different plants when we look at them with a sense of wonder!

There is almost all the colours of a rainbow beautifully displayed in the leaves of this plant.

The design of leaves is similar but distinctly different when we compare  the leaves.

I was reminded of meeting I attended recently where those present differed in their opinions on an important issue. However at the end of a long discussion it was evident that the differences were minimum, but they were only different opinions essential to understand a complex issue. 

It is in the whole there is completeness. It is in the different opinions, we discover the spectrum of truth and opportunities!

The colours and designs are good symbols of the richness we possess in our collectiveness!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Flowers that last !

The flowers from this orchid plant lasts a month or more once fully bloom. In fact even in  flower vase it lasts three weeks or more if we take care of them well!

Flowers are known to be fragile! But it does not mean that they are brittle or devoid of a character. Some flowers defy the wind and storm and stay in the stalk without any sign of stress. I noticed this in these flowers in our courtyard.

This brings home the strength it is endowed with! It is the fragile and the weak the creator God has endowed with greater enduring capacity.

St Paul in his confession did say that, that ' It is when I am weak, I am strong'! It is in our weakness our strength is enhanced. It is when we are in quiet acceptance of of our exhausting resources God adds more resourcefulness to our lives!

The water drops remaining on the petals for a long time after rain is an illustration of how the flowers receive protection from a sudden exposure to the bright sunlight after a rain!

Our lives are protected because God watches over  our lives!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Monsoon sights-10

The rich green of the lawn and the  rain washed vegetation  provide a bright look to the garden in front of our cottage. The plants thrive during this season, so also the weeds. We cannot get rid of the weeds however we try. So we ignore them and provide more care to the plants! Plants live longer and the weeds only for a short time!

We need to choose where we invest! Should it not be on what would last ..!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Monsoon sights-9

In between the spells of rain the honey bees come searching for its food! They are overcomes!

The natural instinct of all humans is to overcome and not give up!

MC.Mathew(text an photo)

Monsoon sights- 8

It is our first attempt to grow orange! There is hope considering that these oranges are still holding on inspite of storms and incessant rains!

Flowers and fruits are signs of life. Let us celebrate life for it is gift given to us for living in fullness !

M.C.Mathew (text and photo0 

Monsoon sights-7

When a plant displays an array of green hues, it creates a  breathtaking sight! More so if it adds other blending shades  to its colour!

That is why Wordsworth referred to colours of our life! Our life is created for  graces of colourfulness!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Monsoon sights- 6

The flower blossom is larger than the plant itself! From a distance the plant is hardly visible!

Our life's mission  is all about fruit bearing! In a greeting card that arrived last week, the text was this:' God wants you to overflow with His blessings so that you can be a blessing to the people around you'( Joel Osteen).

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Monsoon sights-5

This is a wild variety of croton plant which grows on its own and need no attention even during dry season. Its brilliant colours remain through all seasons. It protects itself in the summer by dropping its leaves partially and revives back to its full life even with the first rain. Obviously its roots might be  spreading out to places where it can draw its moisture from !  Its capacity to adapt is remarkable.

We too are gifted with the capacity of residence! It is portrayed in the life and mission of Jesus of Nazareth. The father in the story of the prodigal son displayed it most! Let us grow in grace to be patient and generous at al times!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Monsoon sights-4

This was my mother's favourite plant! She had planted them all around the front yard and we have scattered them even more in the garden. This orchid variety is easy to grow and can stand even adverse heater conditions! But whether it is summer or winter or monsoon the colour remains almost the same. 

As humans we go through different moods...but we are called to be joyful all the time because we are blessed with the 'joy that passes all understanding'!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Monsoon sights-3

I do not remember of having seen this type of Mushroom anywhere! They remained like for three days and faded away! A sight that capture your attention because of its rarity!

Nature has concealed  many surprises in the soil. Our environment is rich and bountiful because it is the Creator's handiwork!

M.C.Mathew( text and photo)

Monsoon sights-2

The Anturium plants at our cottage date back to 1980, when my father collected their shoots from a family friend and planted them around the house.  Some grow in the ground and others in pots where  he planted. So the plants have a history of 25 years.

Every time I watch them I am reminded of the care my father took in tending these plants. These plants are slightly temperamental, because they require a right proportion of moisture, shade, sunlight, humidity and manure. The flowers appear through the year if this proportion is maintained. We are still experimenting with this proportion. 

For a surprise, we have some flowers all the time during the last six months!

Does it not tell us about the value of caring even when immediate benefits are not visible!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Monsoon sights-1

Sights in the garden of our cottage- Lilies in full bloom. Anna have tendered these plants for over 15 years. We have had these plants bloom twice a year over these years.

My only regret is that Anna was not here to see these flowers herself as she was away in Ludhiana with Ethan, Amy and Arpit. Anna was back this week after a most fulfilling experience. These flowers remind us the story of our life at Vellore, Pondicherry and now here!

I return to post my reflections in the blog after a break of a month- during this season of monsoon, I have had erratic internet connection! I hope it would be better form now on!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)