The above pink rain Lily flowers in our garden add colour and richness to our garden. They stay bright and open for two to three days. Anna planted these Lily plants at the edge in the garden in a row and some in pots. They bring a warm look to the garden.
I noticed a butterfly resting on the outside of a flower and not seeking for nectar. This was surprising. I waited for about ten minutes till it flew away beyond visibility. May be it had fed on the honey before I noticed it.
I noticed another butterfly in an adjoining bunch of flowers feeding on the nectar. It moved between flowers and disappeared into the bush behind, when it started to drizzle.
When the drizzle ceased, another butterfly was active sucking nectar in the bush in the corner of the garden.
I found these behaviours of the butterflies interesting and intriguing to watch. They follow a rhythm and find their provision even in the adverse climate.
What was the highlight of the morning walk was spotting a small spider weaving its web beneath the bunch of jasmine flowers. The spider was too small and escaped my attention till I came to take a macro view of the bunch of flowers.
This spider too has its way of surviving by hoping to trap its prey in the web. Its efforts to survive does not get noticed, because it is a small insect, and its web strands are not even noticeable from a distance.
The paddy field below our property which was converted in to a rubber nursery has a stream beside it. A man was walking beside the stream with a fish trap. The stream was overflowing following the heavy rain fall of the last two days. He had a few small fish in his carry bag.
I stopped to enquire about him. Following the monsoon he does not have his daily work in the construction site. His income of about eight hundred rupees is what sustains his family of six members. His younger child had to join the kindergarten in the village school recently for which he had to pay a donation and a monthly fees of 1800 rupees. His older daughter too is at the same school for which the monthly fees is 2000 rupees. He spends about ten thousand rupees a month for buying medicines for his parents who are ageing with different illnesses. He talked about his circumstances in a quiet and subdued tone. He has to refund three thousand rupees every month to the bank towards the instalment payment of the loan he took to build his house.
The picture of the spider that I saw in the morning in the photo above, became a metaphor of his story. The spider struggles to find its daily bread. This man too has a similar story.
What is common between both of them is that they carry on with life in a quiet way, often unnoticed by others. I happened to notice them accidentally.
I heard a voice within me as I was returning after meeting this man that the claim of the Prime Minster of India, that India is moving upwards to become the third largest economy in the world, brings benefit to the people in the middle and upper part of the population pyramid.
Those in the bottom of the pyramid live their lives in an obscure way facing the ordeals of life all by themselves.
I met a senior citizen in the village, who is a retired government officer who earns about five thousand rupees as pension every month. He was on his way to visit a home, whose child was hoping to join a school, for which the family does not have enough resources. He was going to make a donation to help the family to cover the initial expenses of donation to the school and to pay the regular fees. I saw in him a Good Samaritan.
The images of the butterflies and a spider I saw in the garden came back to me. They receive what is provided for them in nature.
There are people and families amidst us, who cannot provide for themselves beyond the level of their ability or resource.
Anna had a telephone call from a family recently to tell that their son got a job. They were one of the few families we were able to support during the school and college years. We became aware of the needs of families during the schooling years of children, from friends who were involved in supporting a few families. The philosophy that they followed was, 'reduce the spending on creature comfort in order to share in the needs of others'! What a noble way of thinking! Their home is an aesthetic and hospitable place with ordinary decor. That reveals their heart of mindfulness towards others.
There is plenty of resources, but unevenly distributed. Those who live in disadvantaged circumstances benefit, when we create space for such people in our hearts.
A spider is able to make its architecturally elegant web. All it needs is space and twigs to pursue its design.
I noticed how red ants have laid eggs on the rose buds, as the ideal environment for the eggs to hatch.
The spider's web and the red ant's laying eggs on the rose buds might appear as too ordinary to be taken seriously. They represent a message to me: we are surrounded by a mystery of resilience in the life around us.
So we live beholding this mystery by unfolding their meaning and calling!
We live sharing our lives with each our. Can that grow into a grateful and mutually supportive experience!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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