The pictures above is of a squirrel nibbling at the bark of a tender branch of the Rambutan tree. I tasted the bark to find it juicy and sweet. No wonder a squirrel found it good enough to feed on!
The other fruits they live on are banana, papaya, berries, and star fruit. They too are scarce now in the garden. Although we leave banana in the feeding bowl at the feeding station, squirrels do not visit the current site, since its location was changed recently to escape from ants.
The different news reports on how people in Gaza Strip live with meagre supply of food for about six months now, might have been overlooked by many. The report of pre-school children and early schoolers loosing weight and showing signs of multiple deficiencies due to malnutrition come to us as an adult made disaster on childhood wellness!
We live at a time when life is reduced to be just existential, conditioned by conveniences and compulsions.
Is not life well beyond the temporal dimensions!
One person who affirmed value of life and the life beyond its temporal context was Jean Vanier who founded l'Arch communities in 125 stations globally, to welcome people with multiple special needs to live along with their assistants who were well bodily.
In the book, The Miracle, The Message, The story by Kathryn Spink on the biography of Jean Vanier, there is a reference to the way, life was viewed in the l'Arch communities, which Jean Vanier founded.
In 1964, Jean Vanier, "bought an unassuming stone house, in Trolly-Breuil, an often cloud-hung village on the edge of Comppiegne forest, just north of Paris. He then invited three broken, rejected people to leave the institution where they had been living in dis-grace and make their home with him. This naive but irreversible step was born, by his own account, of a desire to 'be good' and 'do good' to people with disabilities. He had no idea at that time that hose people would do good to him. Yet what began as an act of compassion towards the suffering that had profoundly moved him led to the very concrete discovery of the biblically poor. It was an invitation which enabled him and l'Arch (the Ark), the community that grew out of it, to touch in special way, upon the mystery of the person with disabilities and so to enter more deeply in to relationship with Jesus "(p 1, 2).
Kathryn quoted Jean Vanier of writing about his persuasion and inspiration, which he received from the instance of Jesus of Nazareth visiting the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1- 9), in Jerusalem where people with different physical needs spent time waiting for their healing by getting into the pool, when the water was stirred by a angel! He healed a paralysed person for thirty eight years who could not be quick enough to get into the pool!
Whether we are well or limited, we have a dimension beyond the material, temporal and existential.
We are loosing this dimension of life, because of which there is more violence towards each other, murder, invasion into the property of others, killing people to win war, destroying places where people live, and elimination of people whom we are not comfortable with!
Life is an abode for God of love ! It is that love we are called to articulate to each other.
Life is sacred because it is God's abode. We can see and receive each other through this optic and acknowledgement!
The body may become fragile as we grow older, but it is still the abode of God.
If those who advocate for war and invade countries, or manufacture weapons to benefit from war or super powerful countries determine the destiny of people, the truth is well beyond this casual and existential approach- Life is sacred and is to be treasured!
The resilience of the squirrel as seen in the photo above is a window into the abundance of innovation and resilience humans carry. They are more than just temporal beings!
The natural disasters, accidents, famine, flooding, earthquakes and infectious diseases take away lives. But more lives are lost in war, racial conflicts, political confrontations and terrorist activities.
Professor Jacob John of Christian Medical College of Vellore explored how children could be spared from contacting Poliomyelitis which made children loose life or functions of limbs during to paralysis. His suggestion of pulse polio oral vaccination followed by injectable vaccine became life saver for children. For two decades now we do not come across incidents of paralytic polio in children. I was curious to find his motivation for his scholarly research in this area that became a landmark in the history of inventions. He told me, 'it was because of a regard for life and its wellness and fullness' !
I wish more would behold the mystery of life and grow in reverence towards life on earth !
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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