Fragile and vulnerable, but survived a storm!

This flower, Nuttall's sensitive Briar belonging to the family of Mimosa Nuttall has become a special flower to me. 

I went to look for these flowers in our garden after a windy evening which ended in a heavy down pour. They looked wilted and appeared to be fading away. However when I went to look for them I found the flowers fully alive and fresh next morning. 

I came across letter a two days back, a professional working in the department where I work,  wrote to the management of the institution, listing complaints about me. I was shown this letter which also mentioned the intent of the person to discontinue from the service in the institution on account of my 'lapses'. I allowed the letter to be submitted to the institution. I was told later in the day that he letter was submitted, but the administration denied receiving such a letter. 

Most of what was written in the letter were not factual, but impressions or speculations. The letter carried anger and accusation. 

I was shaken and lost my sense of purpose in being in a place like this, when a person working with me made the work place an unsettling place for me and others. 

It was in that state of emotional turbulence I went back to look for the Mimosa Nuttall flowers. They had withstood the storm not just for one day, but two days. 

These flowers were strong by nature but were also protected by grass which had overgrown around the flowers. The grass reduced the intensity of the wind and protected the flowers. 

Going to work every bday now has become too heavy to bear. As I discover irregularities and unhealthy practices that crept in during the last two years, I realised that a few professionals  have betrayed trust reposed on them. 

What sustains us in the midst of any storm is not our strength alone, but what encircles one in such circumstances. 

A friend called in to say yesterday that he wanted to resume weekly conversation I used to offer to him and his family earlier for a few years. That came as a balm amidst pain and desolation. 

I want to give the person the benefit of doubt and consider the provocative letter written in an impulsive way.  

Having done that, it is good for me to accept the universal truth that all relationships also have a time frame after which the relationships loose value and significance!

We are called to live our lives looking beyond our circumstances. The lenten season is a reminder of endurance and steadfastness and a call to release others to be free of your expectations of them!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)