A decade of exploring, learning and understanding is behind me !
The decade began with the relinquishing of professional responsibilities at CMC Vellore and relocating at PIMS, Pondicherry and later at MOSC Medical College at Kolenchery.
The changes during the last decade have been many. It was the decade of gains and losses. Arpit and Anandit found their life partners and set out on their journey with Amy and Aswathy respectively. My parents moved on to their eternal home. Dr Hans Burki, a mentor for twenty years too moved on! I voluntarily requested to be relieved from association with some organisations where I had responsibilities in their governing boards. But I made an exception to return to the governing board of CMC Vellore which also I relinquished it a year ago.
The call of integrative living was the theme of the last decade of my life! I began with a sense of connecting with friends on this theme, but that pursuit yielded little!
So most of the insights of the last decade were centred in understanding human behaviour. Let me RECOLLECT.
All of us relate to others in some way or other.
There are acquaintances with whom we have occasional or limited contacts or minimal reasons for engagement. There are colleagues with whom we have working relationships. This relationship is largely utilitarian, but can develop into friendships. All friendships which have the character of mutuality, trust and openness would flourish and bring out mutual inner cordiality of kindness and thoughtfulness. Some of these friends would become companions, who accompany and share the experiences of life and become anchors of acceptance and affirmation. They become partakers in the pursuit of depth and meaning to life. A few from this group would emerge to be mentors or formatters, who keep a vigil over our lives and help us in our path finding. They are self giving and reach out to care , comfort and conciliate without expecting anything in return except fidelity in this relationship. They carry a counselling and prophetic dimension in their association with us. Some of us would have found life-long companions out of this relationships with at least a few of our mentors.
All these relationships take place within the context of the relationship with our spouse, who is our soulmate in this journey of life, living and learning!
I have had experiences with all of these relationships during the last decade. They brought colourful experiences. Some relationships have been stressful, but that is normality.
I celebrate the abundance of goodness in others. I affirm the grace of God at work in our lives. All of us grow over a period of time. There were times, I seemed to regress. They became opportunities to be awakened to the new realities of consciousness which grows into an offering of desiring to live vicariously!
I close this decade with abundance of joy and gratitude. Life brought glad tidings and it is a foretaste of what awaits me in the journey ahead!
I feel grateful that I felt carried when the journey during the in between times became an experience of weariness.
I am grateful for the flavour of joy and contentment which fill my interior at the end of the decade which is behind me! The memories of all these refresh me and resound within me the joy of living and serving.
M.C.Mathew (text and photo)
