it is evening !

One of the interesting sights I look forward to in the evening is to watch birds fly back to their 'home'!

Many are in formation when they fly back and occasionally one comes across solitary birds high in the sky!

It is when we watch such sights we are reminded of our own journey! A journey that began in our mother's womb which continues till when our time to fly away has come !

It is the day that a boils celebrates when it returns home for the night. 

It was during the day it travelled long distances in search for food mate and at the end of the day a bird is ready to rest to recover for another day. 

The day and night offer tow functions to our lives. The day is to work and the night is to rest. It is for this reason, we are under obligation to keep the rhythm of the day and night. Work during the day and  wind down towards the evening for rest and sleep. 

At least for infants and toddlers we now know that neuronal growth and recovery would take place during the Rapid Eye Movement sleep. 

Home is a symbol of restful growth!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Cake and candles!

The candles do something unusual to a cake.

The cake represents all the human experiences and the candles bring light to enlighten those experiences. 

Even cake has a flavour and aroma, which is what life is meant to be. The candles brighten the life experiences. Often candles represent people who come into our lives. Anna who has been part of my life for forty four years has been an enlightening light who brings clarity and coherence to life experiences. The immediate members of the family, friends and mentors are some others who brighten our lives. 

Life is sterile and fades into insignificance without these enlightening influences coming from those who accompany us in this journey. 

That is why, some people let the candles burn on the candle rather than blow them out during the ceremony of cutting a cake for a birthday. That is one way of honouring others who enrich our lives and recognise them as lights in our lives on the occasion of one's birthday ! 

So a birth day is an occasion when our lives and those of others in our lives are celebrated jointly!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Single and singing !

Often we notice single birds! The three birds above sing their bird call. It is the bird call that alerted me to look for their presence ! They were not visible but only audible initially! So it look a while for me to find an access to capture them with my lens.

These birds use the bird calls to look for their partners.  During this period they pass through several wooded areas crossing long distances. 

It is not a pleasant sight to watch these single birds move about in the garden. They carry a body language of desperation!

For many birds, this period is the nesting season. 

Only on two occasions during the last seven years, I located nests of birds in our garden. On both those occasions, the nests were of mina birds. 

As the onus is on the male birds to find their pair, their bird calls are most tuneful. The bird calls resound in our garden almost all the day. That is how I locate some of them. It is an added pleasure if I can access them for a photograph!

A bird photographer told me recently that only after thousands of photographs of birds, one gets the knack of getting good photographs. I am no where near that prospects. I know that none of the three photos in this blog is of that high standard! But the interest to spot and take photos of them continue to fascinate me!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Forbidden fruits !

The pomegranate plant has many fruits is in the garden that I recently visited. It is a public place and the fruits are left hanging for the birds and squirrel.

The mangoes are also not plucked. People can pick up ones fallen on the ground. Otherwise they are meant for birds and squirrels. During the morning walk I found mangoes on the ground half eaten by birds, bats and squirrel. I watched the domestic staff clearing the foot path and gathering all of them for the waste disposal.

It is true that many bird lovers practice a similar approach. They do not pluck all the fruits from trees and plants. A few are left for the avians. 

This is a virtue worth practicing. Although birds are residents or visitors in the tree and can fend for themselves as they are migrants, we can develop a bird friendly environment by becoming mindful of their needs and habitat. 

The week end activity of some families living in London is to go to Trafalgar Square to feed the pigeons. For children it is a thrilling experience so much so many return home after buying bird feeders available on the site, which they place in their garden to attract sparrows!

I am waiting for over three years to get some bird houses made by our carpenter to place them on the trees in the hope that the sparrows come to nest! The carpenter does not believe that it would help!

Birds are friendly and woeful become homely if only we create a space in our minds first and later a spot in our garden space. 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Flowers along the pedestrian path.

There is a lot in the air about tree planting. 

But let me engage in a campaign for planting flowering plants!

When I was walking in a hospital campus recently, I was pleasantly surprised to find many flowering plants in the campus. It is true that the flowering plants need lot of attention and regular care than trees. The flowers bring butterflies, dragon flies, caterpillars, sun birds, squirrel, insects, etc. The plants consume little of the ground water and contribute to the oxygen cycle effectively. 

A lawn, flowering plant beds, and scattered garden benches convert an open space a restful place for leisure! 

Th flowers have a pealing appeal to our mind. It has a distressing effect. It causes to redeem the artistic optic that resides hidden within us. 

The medians along the high ways often have flowering plants. It is purposefully done that way during the high way planning. 

I have ben campaigning that each family practices planting flowering plants.  

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Human behaviour!

Except the rose buds and leaves, the other flowers or fruits do not have the same pattern of retaining water droplets on the surface of leaves or fruits after a downpour. This amazed one once again this morning.

I listened to a debate on ND TV today on how different political leaders speak about their opponents in adverse circumstances. There is a five hundred percent increase in hate speech in the last five years most of which come from high the ranking political leaders, serving in the government. 

It raises questions about how we regard others. 

Just as there is something in the leaf and bud structure of the rose plant because of which they retain water on their surface, so it is with those of us who carry a reactive behaviour response towards others even with least provocation. 

It is when I feel pressured with multiple disturbing events, I become reactive. When such instances occur, it calls for internal exercise of composure. Because I have been helped by my mentors, I have chosen an option of keeping silent, when provoked and protect the inner composure. Although I fail often, when the inner composure was possible, such occasions saved me from the anguish of an outburst. 

It is from within we react. Our reaction is our responsibility. We can let other's words escape our attention when it is spoken in malice or to intimidate rather than react. 

What makes our lives resonate with meaning and hope is our anchor in a way of life which we chose! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Listening to a bird call!

One senses the emotion in a bird call as we listen to it for a while. There is change in its loudness, tune, pitch and character! For a bird, the response it receives is crucial. So it puts everything to make the bird call sound friendly, sensual, and endearing! A male bird searches for its pair, when it is singing away!

Our communication is to invite friendships. Our acts of kindness or deeds of mindfulness facilitate relationships.

It is important to be  alert to audit the way we communicate!

Yesterday an administrative officer dropped in to enquire about my health, following my recent chest infection! He cared enough to enquire and leave thoughts of encouragement. He was truly friendly! His manners and keen interest made it obvious that he was communicating at a heart level!

That was a message to remind me that who we are to others is what finally matters!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Clouds- brightness or darkness!

 For me,  clouds have a metaphorical meaning. 

When I watch the bright milky white clouds move against the backdrop of a blue sky, memories of many happy occasions flood to my mind. I was once in the company of a cloud watcher from Japan , who showed me photographs of many cloudy formation in the sky and related the moods and emotions the clouds created within. It was a moving occasion to listen to the inner story of that friend, synchronising with the formation and pattern of cloud. He received from the cloud a message on each occasion. Our subconscious gets awakened by an external reality. It is as if we need signs and symbols to remind us of the inner events which need revisiting to discover the meaning beyond the obvious. 

What happens when the clouds are dark and indicate rain! That too is an occasion to look forward to. The rain that follows the cloud formation is a down pour of blessing in a metaphorical perspective. The thick and dark clouds might appear initially threatening, but it leaves behind a clear sky after the rain. 

When relationships  with others become cloudy with misunderstanding, failing trust and respect, the going becomes stressful. This theme has often surfaced in mind during this year in my life. I have withdrawn from engagement after a point, when relationships became intensely difficult. So the clouds persist. My efforts to engage were not good enough to clear the clouds of doubt, suspicion or disregard.

What refreshes me in such difficult circumstances is to return to the sky and not become heavier thinking of the clouds. The sky is bright and blue always embracing clouds which it shall move around till it becomes a downpour. 

Those of us, who live with broken relationships and the heaviness of heart on account of them, still can wait in hope because the clouds are transient and temporal. It has an origin and and a natural end. The sky consumes them in due course of time. 

The sky is a metaphor for the everlasting joy of life because of the abundance of love of God. Each of us gets absorbed into this wide canvas of God's presence and love, the consciousness of which might dawn on us only slowly, as we have to recover from the habit of fixing our gaze on the clouds on the sky which obliterate the view of the sky. The sky might appear hidden, but what is hidden is the eternal truth, that does not change. 

When we feel estranged or suffer from broken relationship, it is good to shift the gaze to the sky. Sometimes attending to the sentiments of broken relationships in conversations can only add to the stress. In due course the clouds would fade away or become a shower!

The calling in the mean time is to view even those who choose to stay away from communication soberly, thoughtfully, kindly and prayerfully! That sets in a spirit of acceptance and welcome for the opportune time to arrive with a bright sky!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

The choral group!

The tree in this photo is about fifty meters away from the entrance to our cottage and is tall by about fifty meters. The top part of the tree has been dry without leaves for a year now. It was probably damaged when lighting struck. 

 It is this tree I turn to around 6.30 in the morning. Three or more small birds spend about ten minutes on this tree during their flight path, almost every morning even on rainy days. Their bird songs are crisp and is a melody to my soul. So whenever possible I look out for them and   receive their singing.

I have no means to thank them for their faithful service. The wood cutter who came to trim some trees suggested that the dry part of this tree also be trimmed. I refrained him from doing so in appreciation for  the small avian friends who visit us and sing to us each day!

I feel good that that these sunbirds feel at home on this tree!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

The landing!

Thanks to the facility in the camera for multiple exposures!

It was interesting to notice how the butterfly reaches to the flower. It slows down and moves to rest on a flower. Although all of this happen quickly for our eyes to observe, the sequential photos help to capture this in slow motion.

The butterfly comes searching for its feed, which it does in a measured way.

In our relationships with others, what defines the quality and trust in relationships is this dimension of how we regard or respect the other person!

We can do this in several ways.

One particular way, I observed Professor Ken Holt, an outstanding Developmental Neurologist at Wofson Centre, Children's hospital, Great Ormond street, London  did was to get up from his seat to welcome anyone who came to his room. He told me in a conversation that it was others who brought significance to our lives. So he practiced honouring them because they have made him to be what he had become. 

I struggle with this all the time! I get carried and lose sight of honouring others as I ought! To see in their eyes hopes and expectations and make them feel well received and treated is the least that I can do in my daily work! 

The gentle way the butterfly rested on the flower made a deep impression upon me about good practices in relationship! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

A bee and a butterfly!

There is a territorial boundary at least in my opinion between the butterflies and the bees. I have noticed this a few times in our garden. 

The butterflies hover over the lantana or other larger flowers and the bees go to the butter cup flowers.  So it was a surprise the bee approaching a flower where a butterfly ha positioned itself for its feed. The bee turned around and flew away.

It seemed to  be in alignment with the boundary confinements they follow. 

What surprised me was the ease with which it happened. The birds when they have a territorial dispute chase the invader away fiercely.

This is an entitlement behaviour where the first ones to arrive in a territory have the control over that territory. 

This is a human behaviour as well. 

The senior medical students exercise control over the first years. Those in senior positions of responsibility justify to 'lord over' others below them in the hierarchy. An older brother or sister might keep the younger siblings under their control. A husband might behave dominantly towards his wife. Such forms of entitlement behaviour is all around us. 

Jesus of Nazareth had a contrarian view and practice. He said: 'I am among you as one who serves'! 

To serve is to look after the needs of others and genuinely receive them as companions and colleagues.  

The butterfly and bee respect each other's space and domain! That is relational existence!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

New arrivals !

There are the new arrivals of butterflies in our garden! Delighted to see them!

What amazes me are the colours and designs !

Our environment is worthy of of greater attention!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

Flower for Butterfly!

The flowers are beautiful by themselves.

But when a butterfly is upon them, both the flowers and butterfly receive a new look.

The flower is a flower because it stays open for the honey bees, butterfly, and other insects. A plant fulfils ints function through its multiple beneficial functions, most of which are for others.

Life has this dimension of becoming an offering for others! 

This has been a theme in my thoughts in the last few days. 

On an average about 11 farmers commit suicide in the state of Maharashtra alone, owing to drought and failure of crops because of which farmers are unable to pay back the loans taken from the bank. The human misery is unthinkable.

There is insufficient response from all those who matter to the needs of farmers....!

It is terrible to think that in a land of several billionaires, there are farmers at their wits end! The governments in the states and at New Delhi, seem to overlook all of these. The attention that was given to the international yoga day in the media was phenomenal; but the attention to the desperate situation of farmers in different states in India is abysmal.

The post election situation in India is a matter of concern. The political climate in India is partisan and not inclusive or expansive!

What is politics unless it is for providing service to people and for their aspirations !

The religious majoritarian view of life currently popularised by a particular political party colours the perception of politicians and are shown in their behaviour of arrogance and indifference!  

So it is freeing me of anxiety and fear to meditate on the flower and butterfly because it symbolises the way of living- living mindful of each other!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo) 

At the edge and singing!

June every year is  special month for me. It is a month when I look back and look forward to as it is the time to prepare to welcome another year in my life!

The picture of the mina above speaks all of what I want to summarise about the one year that is about to be behind me. The bird rests on the edge of a post at the fence of a compound wall receiving the rising sun on its back while offering its bird call! 

I began June 2018 with a desire to write personal letters of gratitude to about 90 friends whom I had known over the years since I began my medical studies in 1967. I completed writing to half of them and look forward to finishing the rest before the year end all being well. They turned out to be letters of gratitude, appreciation, recollection of events, and offering words of encouragement and affirmation. 

One natural experience most senior citizens faces is a feeling of living at the edge far away from the main stream. The younger  people occupy the centre space and and the older people naturally get displaced to the periphery. The younger people rightfully belong the centre spot as they are the future for any organisation. Also, in honouring them to be in places of responsibilities we promote transition in leadership. This can grow in to an experience of self-pity for some senior citizens. I have had my share of this now and then. 

Having been made aware of this prospects, I was helped by Anna and some friends to learn to live at the edge purposefully and by choice! 

The interactions at the work place, the opportunities to be professionally involved beyond the work place, developing a life centred view of work and calling and finding a measured balance between work and rest, provided the mooring to stay at the edge expectantly and peacefully!

I felt a renewed interest to be a listener, and in so doing, I felt relieved of having to be provider of direction for others except by offering my attention to be a steadfast companion! 

I did make progress in composing the biography of my life in thirty or so chapters.  That composition helped me to recollect the major events out of which the formative process in my life had evolved.  

People, events and experiences are the three crucial landmarks in one's biography.

The mina in the first photo after a while turned around at the edge and changed its direction to the opposite side. It stopped its bird call. After awhile it flew away. That too was a message of hope and trust. 

Life is given to live at the edge when the time has come for that and live it fully and vicariously till the time when each person's time has come to fly away to the eternal destiny!

So all of us live in this in-between time of the life now and the life beyond!

The in-between time is therefore a sacred and opportune time to unfold the mission of life in all its fullness. 

Looking back over the chronological year in my life that is just about to be over, I have a sense of fulfilment about the effects of my presence at my work space. The joining of another consultant and the rest of the team becoming more stable after six years of efforts to consolidate the mission of the department, has brought delight and comfort. Anna and I have been able to find our rhythm of living and relating at this new phase of our lives. The children and grandchildren occupy our attention and this is another delightful part of the extended family experiences. The role of ASHIRVAD, of which we are founder trustees has progressively decreased as the mission to respond to the needs of developmentally challenged has been adequately expressed at Chennai, Nagpur, CMC Vellore and now at MOSC Medical College Kolenchery. 

The involvements with the EMFI, Asha Kiran Hospital, CMAI, EHA CMC Vellore and Ludhiana, etc. decreased progressively, which in one sense provided respite from the challenges of organisational planning and governance related ups and downs.

To summarise the journey of life with some written text for professionals and pilgrims on the journey of life is the call with which I live now. 

There are times when I felt that I ought to be in touch with friends proactively, visit them and offer support and care! Yes, there is some regretful feeling about it for having not ben not ale to do it. Some broken relationships on account of the difficult time in the governing board of CMC are yet to be reconciled. I was reminded of the intensity of this stress,  when some friends avoided greeting me while attending a chapel service in the hospital chapel recently. I intend to reach out with letters of conciliatory initiative.

So I close the journey of a year in my life with some joyful recollections and some pending responsibilities towards some people to whom I owe an expression of gratitude or regret. 

In the mean time, I noticed a mina in the adjoining field ( I am not sure if it was the earlier one) seeking for its breakfast feed. By then the sun was shining warmly and there were birds in the vicinity with the birdcalls. 

So that became the pointer to the year ahead- to live ordinarily and responsibly fulfilling the stewardship of time and accountability committed to me! The daily living experiences can become truly bountiful when I can live in the consciousness of how much I have been given and provided for!  So that lifts away the burden of the cares of daily living.  God being the provider and Anna being the companion, the year ahead is full of promises and prospects. 

So I wait, inwardly ready to usher in another year in my life! 

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

Bright, brown and beautiful butterflies!

I am glad that I was at home today. I was able to walk in the garden during the short spell when it was not raining. These were the different butterflies I spotted! If Anna was here today, she would have identified them by their names !

Whether it rains or not, these butterflies are always around. I missed some of them as they were too fast for the camera to capture them. They flew away after  hovering over the flowers!

The small things in nature are delightfully pretty and leave memories to treasure!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

An hour after rain!

Three different ways the plants retain water on their leaves after a rain!

To me this is a message about receiving compliments and criticism lightly and receptively and not heavily or resistingly!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

Designs and colours!

The colour and designs on the wings of the butterfly is spectacular. 

The design of the web of the spider too is also exquisite.

The nature presents to us its rich diversity of all sorts. 

These small sights have a larger a message! 

None of us have to be environmentalists of students of botany to notice the small happenings in nature. We have to be looking for them. They are everywhere. 

What defines our attitude is our own view of life!

In each of us there is an ability to look and behold! 

To behold would mean to receive and treasure the sights and sounds of nature. 

We feel within ourselves a sense of abundance of wellness when we live beholding the surprises of nature! 

Friendships with plants and trees would emerge from that!

This enlarges our view of God the creator and the designer! 

I hope our identity emerges form this consciousness that we are created beings and loved by God to belong to Him! When this consciousness dawns on us we seek to be moral, righteous, neighbour-friendly and prayerful! A nature walk awakens this consciousness of God withe me!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo) 

No takers for berries!

These berries are on the wall in the rear portion of our cottage. These berries used to be bird's favourite feeds. But his year, it is not so. These berries are sweet and are safe for human consumption. 

One unfortunate thing that happened during the last year in our garden is the multiplication of the crows. Once crows are too many, other smaller birds get displaced. 

This imbalance gets corrected automatically over a period of time. The nature has its own provisions to give opportunity for all. 

However humans who are the 'keepers' of the environment often seek their interest alone, that too for immediate gain!

There is restriction to construct high risers along the marine drive in Kochi. But there are muti-story buildings with hundreds living in them. The coast line has become polluted that marine life is under threat. The Supreme court has ordered the demolition of the high rise buildings as they were constructed violating the rules. 

What the crows are to other birds in our garden, the builders are to the civil society! The builders who are 'powerful' and 'well connected' get a nod to exploit unmindful of the permanent damage they create in the environment.  

It was the civl rights movement in the United States America which established racial equality.  It is the civil society who is the keeper of the conscience of the society. I have less trust in the political system especially after what I witnessed during the recent national elections, where hateful language was used to 'demolish' others. It continues even after the election, which is sanctioned by the ruling dispensation in the country!

There is space for everyone! There is opportunity for all. Let us not usurp what rightfully belongs to others!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo) 

Small birds from a distance!

My ability to identify birds is minimum.  This sighting of three birds at dawn while it was drizzling, on the top of a tree with dry branches held my attention. Their bird calls could be heard from a distance. 

Are they of three different species! They arrived together and departed together. Obviously they have something in common. 

I feel bruised by the language of accusation, anger and arrogance that is often spoken in the political debate in the TV shows. The anchors seem to be favouring an intimidating atmosphere of conversation! There isn't humour or laughter in the debates.

Few women in my neighbourhood decided to visit the elderly in the community and take a meal for them when they visit. It has created a chain reaction of similar responses in the other neighbourhoods. They are reinforcing our commonality of needs, aspirations and limitations. 

The nature is a home for all of us. The rich and the poor alike are struggling for drinking water in Chennai.

When 140 children died in Muzzafarpur following a strange illness, it has largely affected children who are malnourished. The disadvantaged are more vulnerable. 

What binds us together is our consciousness of the needs of each other. 

What changed the lives of people in Israel when they returned to their homeland after Israel was formed, was the the habit of living in communes, where they shared their resources to turn a 'desert' land to a land of prosperity. The travel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem reveals the fruits of their labour. The barren land on either side of the road got converted into orchards with the help of drop irrigation! 

When we live conscious of others and feel united in a common mission, there is a lasting impact! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

  

Two and One !

Two are better and one is Special!

The Gerbera daisy flowers in our garden are usually in single and the rose flowers are in multiples in the stem. Here it is the opposite. So to see both of them with a difference from the usual was a special sight. 

There is something or the other that calls for celebration !

M.C.Mathew (text and photo) 

Rambutan season!

The Rambutan fruits are ready to harvest in our garden! 

It is a seasonal fruit giving its yield once a year! The rest of the year the tree has only foliage. From the time it starts flowering sometime at the middle of the winter, the tree takes a new look with tender leaves and new shoots. 

The Rambutan received its name from a Malay word for hair, because the golf sized fruit has a hairy red or yellow shell. This fruit is rich in nutrients and anti-oxidants and has some definite health benefits.

However Lychee fruit belonging to the same family of fruits is can produce hypoglycaemia in malnourished children if consumed in empty stomach in the morning without having had a regular meal the previous night. The death of children in Muzaffarpur with encephalopathy might have something to do with consuming this fruit causing hypoglycaemia and coma, according to some evidence suggested by Dr Jacob John, retired professor of CMC Vellore.

These fruits are not native to India. They grow naturally in Indonesia and Malaysia.

A friend whose home I visited recently served me Rambutan from his garden. He planted the seeds he brought from Malaysia twenty years ago and has a good yield of the fruit every year. Now, the saplings of Rambutan is freely available in the nurseries.

There isa craze now to cultivate Rambutan plantation because of the commercial value of the fruits.

The succulent, fleshy and middle sweet fruit is rather special !

M.C.Mathew (photo and text)

A butterfly in 360 degrees !

I was glad to watch this black butterfly move around on the flowers 360 degrees.

It is thick black on its wings outside and slightly brownish inside the wings.

I was spotting this combination in a butterfly after a while.

What was fascinating was its way of movement in an elegant way, slowly and purposefully!

Does a fluttering butterfly have the ability for smooth and graceful movements!  

Movement is a sign of progress. Movement is a transition form one position to another. Movement is also a way of adjusting to circumstances. 

All of these could be true of this butterfly. 

But what is noteworthy is that the butterfly does not cause any disruption to the lantana flowers while doing all the movement on them. The lantana flowers are fragile and are loosely arranged in the flower. Not one petal falls of after such a movement. The butterflies receives  honey frrm the flower and leaves the flower unharmed.

It is a lesson of considerable significance in life. The butterfly does not use the flower for its advantage unmindfully.

I have had this lingering question in my mind for a while. How do I use others! Do I leave them exasperated or nourished!

It occurred to me recently that it is a good practice to behave to others as if it is the last time I have an opportunity!

As I draw close to the end of another year in the seventh decade of my life, I take time to reflect on the strands that form the fabric of my behaviour towards others! Life is well lived only when others are in full focus, neighbours and strangers alike!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)