Out of curiosity, I counted the bunches of cashew nut fruits in different stages of their formation in the cashew tree in our front garden. There were eighty-seven bunches. The above photos of some of them are representative of the similarly looking ones.
The four photos below are those bunches in which one cashew nut looked different from the others in shape, size, positioning of the nut in the fruit or an appearance of doubling!
The differences in the appearance of the cashew fruit in the four photos above, made me look closely at most of the bunches a second time to see if there were other differences. Some were about five feet above me. So I could have missed noticing minor differences from a distance.
The differences do not reduce the nuts to be any less value, from those which look similar. All of them had a stalk which would grow into a pulp to be a fruit shortly.
There is unity in diversity.
During the recent festival of Muslim community, I came across a Catholic church offering its hall for the Muslims to meet for prayer on the festival day. The vicar of the church while welcoming the congregation said, 'We are all worshippers of God, although we do it differently. We welcome you to feel comfortable in our campus. We are brothers and sisters in the family of God'!
I was overcome with pleasant surprise by such a unifying attempt between two religious communities.
The differences do not divide us or make us stay apart!
I recall my forty five years of association with Child Development clinical work, when I spend time in engaging families who felt challenged by the developmental differences of their children. It was common to notice an embarrassment that parents felt as others by their behaviour made them feel that their children were 'different' in appearance or behaviour!
It is ordinary to be different!
Every other person is our neighbour!
Their differences in any manner do not reduce them to be any less than a neighbour!
If every other person is a neighbour, then, the call of Jesus of Nazareth, 'Love your neighbour as yourself' is the vocation to pursue after!
I feel challenged and inspired by this invocation!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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