On the first day of 2024 !

A walk in the garden on the first day of 2024, brought some indication of how a garden becomes the home for plants to bring forth their gift in due season.

Each of these plants has flower bed from which it sustains its nutrients to grow and bear new shoots, buds and flowers. 

The flower bed is therefore a symbol for a home!

Anna was engaged in knitting warm wear to welcome a grandchild to our family.  I watched her knit different sets with colourful wool, with attentiveness and perseverance. Now they are ready to be sent. When I watched this for about three weeks, I felt the sense of nearness that Anna shared as a grandmother, to be thoughtfully present with the family, while they await the arrival of the baby.

A home is a place where each member of the family creates space for others. The flower bed offers its place for plants. A home is a place for shared living and growing. 

The home needs a nurturing ambience for the growth of children and adults. 

The flower bed is nurtured by watering, de-weeding, manuring, protecting the plant during the extreme weather conditions and pruning in due season. 

I noticed a family on a walk with their three year old son, along a water body. The child was allowed to play in the water and in the sand. There were conversations between them. They had some bread in their hand to feed the pond herons. They collected some stones in a pouch, which their son carried with him. The leisurely walk was paced by the interests and explorations of their son. A home is the nurturing ground for wellness for everyone. 

A news item suggested that the ambience in some homes is dysfunctional. A senior psychiatrist commenting on this said: There is an air of suspicion in many homes about each other. He attributed increasing violence in homes due to the suspicion and emotional distance from each other. 

I wish that every home  has routines and rituals which make the home a nurturing ground. To have unhurried conversation times and indoor play activities, instead of the addictive viewing of the TV for entertainment, is one step towards making a home homely!

The news of the earthquake in Japan, war and human displacement in Gaza, shooting in Manipur, and different forms of violence remind us that there is a need to promote and practice peace in our homes. 

I wish peace is the ambience in our homes!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)