Bud, flower and fruit.

The soil allows plants to grow to give us bud, flower and fruit in due season. At one time all the above scenes of different stages of the life of a plant is visible in the garden. 

The soil forms the life of plants and trees. The rain, sunshine, dew and snow make the soil rich and plant life possible. 

A foetus becomes an infant and the infant goes through all the stages of life to become an adult because the family offers the provisions for his or her growth. 

Who nourishes the family for the family to be such a hospitable giver for childhood and adulthood formation!

I am not sure if families receive conscious attention for it to be the cradle for human formation!

Even parenting receives some attention! 

The family formation needs attention. 

The fabric of family life is formed by the routines, rituals and roles, a family practices to nurture each person in the family. 

I wish there is a weekly meeting in each family to share the experiences of the week and feel connected with the inner happenings while living through the events of the week!

It is in listening to each other and being open to the thoughts, aspirations and dreams of each person, the family life becomes relational and interdependent. 

That is one way we feel drawn towards each other to stay mindful of each other!

M.C.Mathew ( text and photo)

One along with others!

When I walk in our garden, I find different stages of flowering in the Lilies. 

This becoming process fascinated me. For several days there were scattered flowering lilies in the garden. 

Soon it became a 'community' of flowers. 

The becoming process has two phases. Each bud becomes a cluster of flowers. Followed by this, is the cluster of flowers formed by other lilies who are next to each other.  

A similar pattern is seen in other plants as well. One flower is followed by more flowers. 

This message is inspirational, instructional and transformative. 

Inspirational, because humans too are companions in the journey of life and not just individuals or a just one family. 

Instructional, because it is a call to be aware of the collective pilgrimage as neighbours and partners in shared living. 

Transformative, because, each person or a family has an opportunity to  feel connected and be relational to others. 

Each of us is unique and yet part of each other because we are inheritors of a heritage created through cross cultural, inter racial and trans-national integration. 

I think that human journey is moving away from a pursuit of individual wellness to collaborative wellness!

I wish this consciousness becomes the common ground for our being and doing. 

A counter voice to the voice of competition, conflict and confrontation is what we need in an atmosphere where individualism seems to prevail over the collective consciousness of fraternity and fellowship. 

I noticed a sticker on the table of a bank officer, 'speak to each other kindly'! In his conversation with us yesterday, that was what he practised.  That was akin to seasoning the food with salt. He lit a lamp to share the light of enlightenment through his behaviour. 

Each of us is more than just an individual; we are part of the collective!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Visiting friends

 

Anna and I feel touched by the gestures of thoughtfulness we receive from friends who make an effort to visit us. It brings a renewing touch to relationships and shared memories. We had a few visitors recently whom we did not meet for a while.

There are others who keep in touch regularly by phone calls and messages. 

A friend came recently from a long distance unannounced, but we were out of station. 

We greet all those who stay in touch or carry us in their thoughts with this bunch of flowers from our garden.

Although we are hidden away in a village, we feel visited and remembered, which makes this phase of our lives equally colourful as before. 

Often at day break, the bird calls from the feathered visitors, who have made our garden as a flight station, remind us of many who have touched our lives over these years!

 What a gift of love from friends!

All friendships bring energy and freshness into our lives!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

The cows hear his voice!

I felt surprised by the way, how these cows follow their master's voice during the bath! The cows are familiar with him and he is mindful of them and their behaviour!

The cows yield to his voice because they feel cared for and protected. 

The man-animal behaviour is a mutually obligatory relationship. 

The earlier thought was to tame the animal, but now I find more people treat animals  regardfully beyond the utilitarian purpose. 

This young man talks to the cows and plays music for them. He spends time with them to make them feel cared for. He takes them for a short walk every day!

What was striking on one occasion was that he left the cows in the stream after the bath for a while, instructing them to stay there. He returned after about ten minutes. The cows followed his instruction and waited for him!

I found that as a surprising behaviour! How trusting the cows are and feel secure in their master's voice!

This young man made the cows to feel that way! 

How much our behaviour conditions the behaviour and response of others!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

 

An example of bird behaviour!

 

A Bulbul pair made the way for a squirrel to have its feed at the feeding station in our garden ! The squirrel emptied the plate when it got a chance. 

When we placed more banana, two Bulbuls returned to feed. 

A squirrel although displaced the Bulbuls earlier, they too received enough to feed on.

In the avian world,  this story of gain and loss is common. They have learned to adapt and be comfortable with that. 

The meal times are rarely quarrelsome at the feeding station. The bird behaviour of co-feeding is a sight to watch! It resonates peace, which is what we long for in human behaviour!

M.C.Mathew( text and photo)

The look !

Look to observe:

Look of curiosity:

Look of pause:

Look to feed :

Look of readiness to move:

Look to communicate :

I am beginning to become familiar to guess the thought behind a look when birds spend time in our garden. 

For them looking is one way of sensing the environment around them. Its plan for the flight movements is an outcome of how a word senses the space around it and far beyond. 

In the list of my guesses the photographs, with different forms of look,  I perceived from the look of different birds, one message I received was that there is a body response associated with their look. 

Their look is lot more than just seeing. There is a perception and response expressed in their look!

Some parents describe their toddlers look as 'innocent' and 'mischievous'. That is what they are. 

It is fascinating to observe the behaviours of birds and get familiar with their 'thoughts' behind their look!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

  

The movements reveal the presence.

With summer heat suffocating birds, the usual birds have moved to different cooler places, so much so the cacophony of the morning is missing in our garden. The flight movements also decreased considerably. 

It is a habit for me to be out in the garden at day break and look for movements in the foliage to spot birds as the visibility improves only after day break. 

The pictures above are of some birds, who would not have been seen except for the movements of the leaves visible from a distance. It is at day break they fly away to the usual places. 

The Sunbird resting on the slender branch, from which few nutmeg fruits were hanging was a surprising sight.  

The bird calls and flight movements are the usual ways we track the birds in the morning. 

Now, it is worthwhile to look at tall trees and track if a bird can be spotted by the movements of the leaves around the bird. 

To find a bird early in the morning, groomed and ready for flight is a pleasant sight! Such occasions have been infrequent!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)