The becoming!

 

I happened to notice a bud and rose flower in a rose bush, while on a morning walk. I felt drawn by this sight and paused for a while to take in the message of this sight. 

A bud over period of few weeks shall open to be flower.  This becoming process is long or short depending on the genetics and the epigenetic effects on the rose plant. 

A child shall become an adult over a period of time; and an adult shall become a senior citizen over a period of time. This process of becoming is spread over decades of life. 

Yet there is a becoming experience each day !

During the daily walk to a village every day for five days, I got an exposure to the lives of people who live on both sides of the road leading to the village. As my walk was around the same time each day, I was able to watch the routines of the day around the wayside houses. 

One sight that fascinated me was what a father did every day towards his three to four years old son. He walked with him, pointing the child to different activities taking place on either side of the road. As I walked behind them for about ten minutes on one day, I got a glimpse of the conversation that takes place between the child and father. 

One question that the son asked the father was about a tree that did not have any leaves. 

The father's explanation was that the tree was old and had lost the leaves. He pointed to a senior citizen who was walking ahead, who had lost most of his hair on the head, turning to be bald! The boy listening to this, asked his father, 'Will you also loose your hair when you become old'? The father, responded in a way that might make a connection to the child, by recalling the photos on the bulletin board at home. That collection of the child's photos taken on every birthday showed how the hair grew. He stroked his son's hair and suggested how his hair has grown long over time! The boy exclaimed, 'Yes, I am growing'! 

The father pointing to the teak tree on the road side with its blossoms turned the attention of his son to the stages of growth in a tree, stem, branches, leaves, flowers, and seeds. The father and child stopped at this site for a few minutes. I could not over hear the subsequent conversation as vehicles were passing by drowning their conversation in the high decibels of the traffic.

Although I did not have an opportunity to be in their proximity, while on my walk on other days, as they were ahead of me or were returning after the regular walk, I presumed that the conversations between them had similar content and course of dialogue. 

I felt fascinated by the becoming process of a pre-school child facilitated by his father through listening and interaction. What was most captivating in the conversation was, how the father turned the attention of the child to growing by turning to the growing tree. From the tree without leaves  to a tree with abundance of leaves, flowers and fruits!

I guess that the father understands the psychology of association which a pre-school child makes, when an event is visible and tangible. This is the way a child's thinking is influenced with experiences or exploration. 

On my way back home, after being part of a formative experience of a pre-school child and the discerning skill of the father, I sat back to consider as to how much of discerning skill is growing within me to turn the attention of a seeker to life and living from his orientation to be dragged by the losses in life!

Many people live like a barren tree, with hope and aspiration dried up due the compulsions in life and adverse circumstances. How much am I alive to discern their need and open their mind to turn their attention to the tree that is blossoming !

Our daily living, needs an inspiration to shift our focus to becoming full with the consciousness of resilience within to continue in this journey of becoming! 

Our journey in life is not  towards loosing, but gaining to be fruitful!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)