The year 2022

What the year 2021 did to me is an amazing consciousness about existing in a narrow space hidden and secure amidst the wind and storm of life. 

Anna and I remained well amidst the pandemic of COVID 19, a story which awakens within us immense gratitude. I was rescued from a down hill course at my work place caused by suspicion and accusation of inefficiency. There was a confinement to a restricted space with less nearness with friends and companions. 

The Tree pie in this blog became a symbol as I prepare myself to move on to 2022!

It is perched in a slender branch but with strong branches on both sides. It remains insulated and protected. It is form this safety it shall fly out even in the wind and storm. 

My longing for 2022 is to live in this rhythm- finding refuge in God of comfort and going out with songs of joy for thoughtful service!

A family reminded me of this calling yesterday at the end of a consultation. 'It is good to know that there is a place such as this for parents to come to when they are weary'!

Come 2022 and carry me to places and scenes appointed for me!

To live with that freedom and openness is what I seek for!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

A station while on a journey!

I watched the moon yesterday, early in the morning, when it was stationed opposite our cottage during its journey! I remembered seeing similar stations of Moon during its journey different occasions during the year. It has two directions, one towards becoming the full moon or towards not being visible at all.  Which ever way the Moon moves during its course, one thing that held my attention was its cycle that has a course and pattern. 

As I stood watching this terrestrial phenomenon, my thoughts went back to the words of the the Psalmist who said, 'I will give thanks to thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made..' (Isa.139:14). It is a statement of wonder, confession and mystery!

The human story of transitions between different seasons in our lives come up for more exploration as I face the movement from the year 2021 to 2022. 

This movement has two dimensions- expression and extinction. The expression of oneself in the theatre of human existence would take different forms and shapes during the year 2022. I would be different from what I have been in 2021 as experiences during one year got added to the repository of years of experience of the past and thereby making me and my being even more rounded or wholesome. 

The movement is also towards extinction. I am closer to the closure of my life as the transition into 2022 takes place. This creates abundance of joy and contentment for the life that was given and the way I was privileged to explore to arrive where I am. 

The Moon along its journey sheds its light and moves relationally to the sun and earth. It is a confluent and relational journey and is purposeful.

That thought leaves me inspired. My single life and  married life with Anna, form the core of that being. The wider dimensions of life include relational realities with our children and their families, work place relationships, neighbourhood, friends and companions scattered globally and memories of people whose presence in my life at different seasons made life richer and brighter.  The family life that Anna and I shared and continue to do so rest in this canvas of wide net work of people who have remained in our orbit. Our movements will leave some light in the lives of others. 

Moon moves cyclically and purposefully. So it is for each person. Whether it is an ascending journey to the fullness of expression or descending journey towards extinction, this happens in the setting of people who form the scenario in which we live and move.  

During this transition into 2022, what stays dominant in my mind  is the light that shall shine on the path along the way! The Moon became the symbol of that light that shall lead us on! 

The fear of darkness is overcome by the light that shall fill the darkness. The Light that filled the earth which was void in the creation story, is the light that shall shine within. That light shall become the path finder. 

I remember a sight during my childhood of how my parents used to give a lighted bunch of dry coconut palm leaves to visitors who came home and returned when it was dark. That bunch of burning coconut leaves was good enough to show the way till they reached back their home.  

The Moon, the lighted coconut palm bunch and the burning candle on the table while I write this are symbols of Jesus of Nazareth, who said, 'I am the Light of the world'!   

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

 

 

The three realities!

I found these three sights in our garden which t urned helpful to prepare me for the closure of the year 2021. One fruit bearing aracnut tree is drying up prematurely. The mango tree is full of tender leaves suggesting that it is flowering season. The papaya tree is with its fruits. 

This is nature's message to us if we care to pause and reflect on! Life has its span, but can be shortened by unexpected events. While we live we are to be living sharing the goodness that we are bestowed with. Our lives become a resource of encouragement and refreshment for others. 

Looking back into 2021, I get a sense of how some aspirations I carried for the tenth year of the department where I work, got reduced or dried up due to difficulties that cropped up by internal and external factors. The internal factors of discord, the type of which I had not experienced in 40 year of my professional work, consumed my attention and I felt drying up of energy and enthusiasm. 

Amidst the struggle to live beyond that emotionally disturbing scene came some new initiatives from colleagues in the department to revive the purpose of the department. The clinical service is now changing into a digital platform with more clear and simple protocols for developmental appraisal and follow up of children. The publishing of Buds to Blossom for developmental observations of children from birth to five years and the two other publications under editing, Following a child and Upbuilding a child  came at a time when we needed much encouragement. I consider these publications as fruits of the last 40 years of a parent centred Neuro-developmental support system, which we have actively pursued through the initiatives at ASHIRVAD Christian Concern for Child care at Chennai, Nagpur, Vellore, Pondicherry and now at Kolenchery.

A dry tree, tree with tender leaves and another tree with fruits symbolise for me the panorama of the last forty years from 1982, when the first thought of a journey in to Child Development services had dawned on us.   

The year 2022 would be also the 25 the year of partnership with CMC Vellore since the Developmental Paediatrics Unit was established in 1997 at CMC Vellore by ASHIRVAD incorporating its Child Development Centre functioning at Chennai since 1983.  

All of us live with such a mixture of realities- dried up aspirations which could not be fully realised, hope and aspirations which are still alive and worth pursuing and some aspirations and pursuits bearing fruits!

I confess that I keep looking at the dried up tree. What is one dried tree in a garden of three hundred trees living and flourishing! And yet sometimes we are not able to take off our eyes of the one tree that dried up. This is a self defeating orientation. 

What invites me as I summarise the year 2021 is to take delight in the tree with tender leaves and the tree with fruits. 

I have had a habit for a while now, since retiring from CMC Vellore in 2008 to summarise each week to encourage myself to stay looking at the promising experiences and hope giving outcome of the little that might have been possible for that week. 

It is a good practice to promote our personal wellness by inwardly dwelling on what can sustain our calling! It is one sure way of subsuming the disappointments and staying absorbed in all the possibilities which are still left with us. 

A mother who visited yesterday to announce the good news of the next pregnancy mentioned to me that, 'I feel good that I had all the time to give my son who needed help for the last eight years'. She referred to her son who still have a few Neuro-developmentla needs. I felt overwhelmed with the hope and cheer she communicated. 

Our life is a journey travelling through deserts and green pastures. One can agonise over the desert experience or stay glad with the experiences of having been through the green pastures. 

It is good to get friendly with all the seasons in our lives as each season has its richness to bring cohesion to our lives!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

A bird's readiness to fly upward!

I watched this bird getting ready to fly upward to land on the wall that was three feet high! The  readiness to fly is a preparation process to ensure safe landing!

I wonder whether this preparation process is thought about seriously as we make our transitions in life!

I met someone yesterday who is now getting ready to think about marriage. I liked the way he was taking small steps towards this. 

I met a shop keeper who is getting ready to have a branch of his shop in another village. He has been on this process for a year now.

I heard an officer in the institution talk about the preparation for NABH accreditation for two years now. 

I have a sense of launching into another day when I get up early in the morning. As I follow through the routine and rituals of the morning, I get a sense of getting ready for the morning. Sometimes I cut short this preparation process and such days do not have a good closure either. 

Every day is a transition journey, moving from one stage of inward growth to another stage! 

A child who came to visit yesterday, told me that he can cycle now, which he could not do about two months back. I felt delighted by his observation, 'I took time to learn to cycle'. Taking time to be ready is a sign of living with a direction. 

Jesus of Nazareth had a question to his followers: 'Which of you would not count the cost before starting to build'?

The new year 2022 is at our threshold! 

I have been making notes for fifteen days now to summarise the year 2021 and looking into the possible scenarios of 2022. During this process I realised how some things happened in 2021 when I was least ready.

To stay ready calls for attentiveness to the rhythm we want to choose to live by! 

Life is well lived when we stay ready for transitions!

M.C.Mathew( text and photo)

 

A story of a bird family!

I watched in our garden some unusual movements of the red vented and white cheeked Bulbuls on the Christmas morning. 

It was the presence of a Bulbul with feed between its beaks which alerted me of the presence of a nest close by. 

What I could see partially hidden by the overgrown grass was how an adult bird was feeding two little ones. I stayed watching this in delight as such occasions are rare occasions even for an avid bird watcher. 

Although it was a sight only for a minute or so, before the birds flew to hide in the thick foliage of an adjacent tree, it was a rare sight since I took to photographing birds for the last twenty years. The last time Anna and I watched such a sight was in the garden outside our house in the campus of the Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences 12 years ago. 

There is so much happening around us that go unnoticed. To be able to see and take in these sights is indeed a privilege. What a world of many happenings that remind us of the stories of caring and sharing!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

 

The ageing flowers!

 In this cluster of flowers the three have changed tenor colour and and lot the filaments in teh centre in the ageing process. The three are in the process of withering and dropping to the ground. The one bud and two other younger flowers remind me of the life that shall go on!

I realise that I am in the 73rd Christmas season in my life, an experience worth recollecting. During my childhood it was the carolling I remember, going from house to house and the special meals associated with Christmas. During my years at Medical School, I remember visiting hostels to sing carols and having a special evening of singing for college students who were from different faith traditions. During the years spent at Chennai, most of the Christmas events I remember were associated with the St Andrew's Church, Egmore. The carol service, house visits and get togethers organised for children with special needs at ASHIRVAD come to my mind. During the years at CMC Vellore, the Christmas season spread over two months and inviting foster students to our home for meals and get-togethers were special occasions. Since being in our present cottage during the last ten yeas, many usual events associated with Christmas have faded away. Anna and I  visit our neighbours during the Christmas week and share the joy of Christmas! 

The usual custom of greeting friends and family during Christmas continues! That is an occasion of summarising family events and sending our a letter to share the joys of the year. Dr Janet Goodall and Dr William Cutting were the oldest friends from whom we received Christmas greetings during this season. 

It was lovely to receive videos and photos from our children and remain connected with the happy occasions the grand children go through during this season. Some friends have made special efforts to reach out to us. 

Life is for living and sharing. 

Anna and I have many recollection of how our lives have been interwoven with those of many over these years and feel grateful for those who remember us and with whom we can still keep in touch. 

We look back to recollect the joyful experiences of the Christmas seasons and feel grateful for th health and wellness that we are gifted with!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

From the archives-2021

Each of these photos occupies a special place in the gallery of photos of 2021! They are memories that live on!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

 

A Sun Bird- from the archives of 2021

Of the collections of I have of birds in 2021, this is special because this sun bird returned to its earlier spot after fetching its feed!

It chose to return for what reason?

Its behaviour is worth pondering over!

Birds seek for safety, more so when it is vulnerable!

Most birds would want to eat its meal privately!

Was that the reason!

Or was it to give it away to its male partner!

Which ever way one might look at it, what still fascinates me about this bird is its body complexion of colours and the way it keeps its body well groomed ! Its body is an exquisite art model!

Small birds are aesthetically distinct!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

 

Photo collection of 2021

 

Each of these pictures reminds of me something special; hence they form a good summary of my photographic experiences of 2021!

Thank you for those who visit this photo-bog! You have been an encouragement. Thank you for those who send your messages of encouragements and comments. 

This photoblog tells you the story line of my life. Thank you for sharing with me in this journey of recollection and gratitude!

The 3360 blog posts and the tenth year of blogging with visitors to the posts from about ten countries, this experience of reflecting on events and happenings have become part of my daily rhythm. 

I receive a larger view of life events when I revisit the experiences about which I share in these posts. Thank you for affirming me to be on this journey of self disclosure of confessions and efforts to find the path for the journey ahead!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Frequently photographed visitors of the year!

For some reason that I do not know fully as yet, the Wood peckers and the Kingfishers are the frequently photographed birds in 2021 as I make out from my collection of photos. 

There is an unusual elegance they represent and display a richness of colours ! They are also the regular visitors to the garden!

Both of these species are known to have some consistency in their habits and behaviour! That might be one reason, why I keep looking out for them!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

A spider in its web !

A spider, perhaps a Wolf Spider in our garden on the grass with its web, most of it covered with dew of the morning. What was striking was the hollow in the centre of the web,  like a shelter it creates, between the grass and the web to which is its home. The web is a water resistant cover like a tent, over the central hollow it creates for its shelter. What a splendid design and ingenuity!

Nature is such a rich collection of unusual and spectacular sights!

That is why we ought to have greater regard for our environment!

The eco-friendly mind set is yet to engage us fully! 

The Christmas message of Pope Francis was about 'suffering earth' because of human indifference! For him, Christmas is a good time to revisit our attitude towards the earth whose stewardship is committed to us!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)