The Alchemy !

 

A camp fire brings many memories of occasion and events in our lives. The first  memory of such a camp fire was of the one in the Scout camp in 1960 when I was in the high school. The group singing, mono act, mimicry, street play, and musical chair came back to me while I was present for a camp fire during  a week end meeting recently. 

I was late to watch how the fire was lit. Often that is worth watching as different methods are employed to light the wood especially if the wood is wet or not fully dry. During the next two hours I was present, I watched the fire burning out. Although I waited till 10 pm to get a photo of the ash, the wood was still burning. Although I rushed at 6 am in the morning to get a photo of the ash, it was already removed while the courtyard was swept. 

My memories went to bak to what I read about the Alchemists and the alchemy they practiced. They put together different substances, raw materials and chemicals into a jar and watched them turn into different consistency, colour;  the prima materia turn into aqua permanence. This process had an internal bearing on the who watched this process. They observed this as the metaphysical experience, when the different experiences off life got blended or integrated though the process of allowing them to interact with each other, through opus, a conscious assimilating work or activity, in search for the truth those experiences represented. 

The alchemy physically created new material substance, some of which were inventions. It also changed the interior ambience of emotions, memories, attitudes and values to be more humane and humanitarian in approach to life, living and learning. 

The novel, The Alchemist, by a Brazilian author, Paulo Coelho is a vivid representation of the mystical story of an Andalusian shepherd Santiago, who yearned to travel in search for a treasure. His travel from North Africa to Egyptian pyramid, to find the treasure he dreamt about, while sleeping under a sycamore tree beside the ruins of a church, led him to a voyage of gains, losses, encounters, falling in love with Fatima, joining a caravan going to Egypt and similar plots and twists in the narrative, till he started to dig for the treasure at the foot of the  pyramids.  He was stopped and made to feel foolish as one of the men talked about an oft repeated dream he had, of a treasure near the ruins of an abandoned Church in Spain and the worthlessness of pursuing such dreams. Santiago, having been reminded of this place when he had the dream about a hidden treasure, went back all the way to the place. He dug and found a chest of jewels and gold buried under a tree and planned to return to meet Fatima who was waiting for him. 

This story represents the internal alchemical process in human lives. Jesus of Nazareth once said, 'where your treasure is, there will your heart be also'(Matt.6:21). 

While watching the camp fire this time, I remembered the journey that Anna and I embarked on 1982, following the home call of our daughter, Anita, at three months of age, to find the larger meaning of our life's purpose. The twists and turns in our lives since then was a voyage through gains and losses to come tho the present stage in our lives after forty years. We feel that the treasure, we were searching for in our life's journey, was to become authentic and less dichotomous. The opportunity that this journey gave us was to help parents of developmentally challenged children to discover their children as 'mystical', from whom they can learn to grow and become beyond their   natural selves. Amidst the mystery of their suffering, there was the prospect of gain that was hidden.  

When a family decided to delay the second pregnancy,  till their first child was able to walk independently, following a weakness on one side of the body due to birth trauma, it turned out to be  a season of enormous discoveries. They provided a home to optimise the child's development with the mother taking a break from her job. Their material pursuit in life changed into a vocation to care, share, support and live mindful of others in need. In a conversation the parents told me about the insights their child brought into their lives and new frontier of being a support to others in need.  What happened to them was a new consciousness about their mission in life ! Their child   became the means for this revised optic in life. They live with a heart orientation ! 

For Santiago, the treasure that appeared in his dream was within and beside him. The outward journey was a means to bring him back to an inward journey to trust his dream and live pursuing it. 

The wood burned to become ashes, while giving light, warmth and aroma to all around. 

A life well lived brings light, warmth and aroma of goodness. 

I stood watching this garden of trees, plants and grass. It is a home for birds and abundance of life in the soil. The soil fosters life!

Each human life is a garden of events and experiences. It is when a seed of consciousness falls in the hum heart, that life becomes  altruistic and self giving. 

This happened to Ida Sophia Scudder, who watched three men coming one night searching for a woman doctor to be with their spouses, who were distressed during child birth. Her father who was a doctor was not welcome to attend on the women, as tradition restricted only woman doctor to attend on a woman in child birth. Ida was moved by this encounter. She saw the funeral procession on the next day of women who died in child birth. She was a university student in the art faculty. She discontinued her course and started training as a doctor. 

Dr Ida returned to Vellore and started a dispensary and road side clinics in 1900, which later became the Christian Medical College. The college will be 125 years old in 2025. Its motto is 'not to be served, but to serve'. 

The camp fire that I was part of two weeks ago, brought me these thoughts. I feel grateful that life is still evolving! Its orientation is to grow in the consciousness of the treasures others carry in their lives and support them in the discovery of that experience!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

 

A migrant visitor!

 

A Shikra, belonging to the family of Hawk, was on a coconut palm for a while in our garden. I mistook it for an owl from a distance. Only when it turned its face, I noticed it to be different. It was during the Google search, I recognised it to be a Shikra, little banded goshawk, a native of Asian and African continents. I noticed its typical flap and glide flight when it flew away to another tree, probably to be in sunlight. From the yellowish iris, brownish upper parts and heavier brown banding on the underparts, this was probably a juvenile female bird. 

Its name suggests that it is a hunter. The falconers train Shikra to fetch food for Falcons.

This is not a bird which small birds are comfortable with, as they feed on them, squirrels, lizards and insects. I wonder whether the relative absence of smaller birds in our garden, even around the feeding station in the morning, was on account of fear this Shikra would have conveyed through its presence in the garden! The Babblers can gather together and chase away a Shikra. 

I noticed a squirrel who was on its morning stroll protecting itself between two branches in a deliberate act of seeking safety. A Tree pie perched in the coconut palm was looking intently towards the Shikra. A Bulbul sounded alarm calls from the nutmeg tree adjacent to the coconut palm. I did not associate these with stress behaviour of a squirrel or birds till I read more about the behaviour of Shikra while hunting for its prey. It is known to fly towards its target and carry the prey between its beaks!

It was a wet and cloudy morning yesterday and visibility was reduced. The light condition was not ideal for photography. I feel good to have pursued to race the Shikra, form the time I noticed it for the first time. 

The presence of one hostile bird, chased away most birds from the garden and the few birds and the squirrel seemed to show stressful behaviour. 

When a pair of Bulbul appeared in the tree in front of our cottage,  I knew that the threat of Shikra had receded and bird movements were returning to be normal. 

The Bulbuls were soon back in the feeding station, to turn the morning to a usual occasion for birds. 

I happened to hear two speakers alive yesterday. One spoke stressfully and nervously listing the ills, uncertainties and unfortunate situations around. The other spoke about some happy childhood experiences recalling family times spent with his sister, late father and mother at home. 

It was a message to me about the way we perceive situations. There is enough adverse situations around along with endearing experiences. What do I focus on and communicate matter! 

Following the painting of the a room last week, I was rearranging the room yesterday. When I rearranged many photographs of people and evens of the last forty years associated with the work of ASHIRVAD, an Initiative for Child Development, in which Anna and I were involved,  brought memories of many events which were subsumed by some other difficult events. The stressful events often remained dominant. The several other joyful and fruitful experiences, when recalled, the inner ambience moved to a state of peace and wellness. 

The palpable threat Shikra created in our garden among other birds was short lived. 

The philosophy of 'fight or flight' when adverse circumstances surface do not appear to be the whole truth. A third option is to 'stay' knowing that the wind and storm would recede. The tree pie, Bulbul and squirrel were alarmed, but stayed around in the garden knowing that 'even this will pass away'!

The stress that comes upon us due to unexpected situations can be natural, but that too can be a means to grow in inner strength, knowing that it is in 'God we live, move, and have our being'! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Birds and pets bring messages!

 

On a misty morning, I walked in to the garden, for the pleasure of getting a feel of how plants looked when the distant visibility was poor. 

A movement of foliage in a nutmeg tree, with a few of its branches bare,  were just visible in the cloudy morning. 

I spotted a Cormorant after a long spell of absence from our garden. With the visibility poor, I was not sure if it was an Indian Cormorant or a little Cormorant. 

I watched its movements through the tele-lens, seeing it move from one branch with some foliage to another branch, fully bare stretching horizontally farther away from the stem. It was there it stayed for about fifteen minutes, grooming and drying its wings. The fully stretched wet wings did indicate that it was perched after a fish meal from the stream beside the nutmeg grove. 

It had an alert look with neck turning in all directions, which occupied my attention, till it flew away beyond visibility in that misty morning. 

I do look out in this site regularly as it is a favourite site for Kingfishers to watch the stream below. 

Two thoughts crossed my mind. The Cormorants feed exclusively on fish. That involves covering long distances between water bodies. As they immerse themselves in water while catching fish, it would need to dry its body before immersing in water another time. The glistening plumage is a sign of the attention it pays to be flight ready and ready to dip into water. How it adapts to the needs and the opportunity!

Our domestic worker is a person who is quick to respond and often seems to be in a hurry to complete a job. He does whatever he does neatly, although he seems to be in a hurry. During the last two weeks, we were engaged in the painting  the cottage, which involved slow and careful strokes to make the painting a decorative work. I was amazed to see him do that job with diligence and attention. He, having been a mason by training and experience, he has mindset for planning. It was great to watch him to give a first coat and do painting of another surface till the earlier surface is dry for a second coat of paint.  

The Cormorant is an alert and vigilant water bird. It follows an orderly fashion. Even the nest it makes, which I found near a waterbody while on a picnic, suggests how there is a structure and design for their nest. 

Someone recently asked me if I spend a lot of time watching birds. It  is about an hour on most days between the morning and evening. I find  this exercise contributing to my skills of observation, patience and alertness. The bird calls of some birds like Bulbuls have become familiar to me to get a sense of the different tones and pitch they use to convey messages to each other. 

I feel most fascinated by the behaviour of Bulbuls at the feeding station. Usually one or two birds arrive for the feed early in the morning. They make special bird calls which bring more Bulbuls to the feeding bowl. In fact those who arrive first wait for others to come before they start feeding. Those who had few helpings of food, would move away to perch in the tree, allowing more birds to feed from the bowl. They are not solitary feeders, but seem to favour feeding together with other birds. The gregarious feeding habit of Barbets is in contrast to this. The Barbets alone take large bites of food and fly away to a nearby perch to feed privately. 

I watched a video of a watchman who received his food packet after finishing his work at a hotel and carrying the food packet home to share the meal with his wife and his cat. An amazing sense of attachment to his spouse!

How birds, others, stories we read or hear leave impressions to make us more thoughtful, caring and observant of goodness that abides in others around us.  

Dulcie and Daphne remind us of some good practices. They come to be stroked and talked to. They indicate when they need a treat of biscuit by their nudging look! Anna while feeding the fish, stand before the Acquarium. The fish move upwards and wait for feed to be dropped. They recognise Anna's presence at  the feeding time. 

I realise how birds and our pets bring us to be more relational from our pre-occupied state! Dulcie knowing when we are about to go out, when we change dress, would come close to us wanting to be stroked and spoken to! When it is lightning and thundering she comes to close to us and wants to be comforted. She is most comfortable if she finds a place in our lap. That is how she expresses her emotional needs. 

These were my thoughts after watching the Cormorant in the garden! It was a messenger to remind me about soft social skills that need more attention!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Recovery from life events!

There are two contrasting sights that captured my attention, while walking in a wooded area of a large garden. 

The one above is those of trees which have suffered some damage following which a tree woeful have become dry as in the first tow photos, or new shoots sprouting and growing which sustained the life of the tree. 

The third and fourth photo of a tree indicated that its main stem was damaged during its growth and the new branched emerged form the stem, which made the tree to continue its vibrant life. 

The fifth and sixth photos of another tree tell a similar story of its resilience following a damage to its stem. 

The phots of another tree, seventh and eight, showed a discolouration in the stem following which multiple branches emerged frpm the stem and the tree seems to have survived the damage!

 

The four photos above give another story of the garden. The trees grow normally in the garden. The cashew tree displaced sideways by a fig tree, which spread its branches over it, is showing tender colourful leaves, suggesting the flowering and fruiting season. 

The flowers offer nectar and a bee is receiving its nectar. 

The tall and slender trees in the garden is a canopy which allows light to fall on the ground because of which the lawn grass carpets the ground shielding away weeds from their overgrowth. 

A student of Botany would look at this diverse phenomenon and would be forthcoming with scientific rationale behind all these happenings. 

For me, it was a sight that took me to the history of my involvement with families of developmentally challenged children, for forty years, when I listened to stories of families who had a broad canvas of happenings in their family life. 

One thing was common between families. As soon as the family noticed that their child was different from others or a sibling, the anxiety level afflicted them and disturbed their journey in life. 

There were families which remained frozen, some shattered, some resilient, some grieving and some coping !

Some stories of coping and resilience came up in my mind. 

A family whom I met twenty years ago, sent me a letter recently about the progress of their son with whom I have had no contact for 12 years. They spent their time away from their home town over these years in order to offer suitable educational ambience for their son, because of which he is now in a skill development programme in preparation for self employment. The letter was one of recollections of happy memories and narration of the multiple abilities of their son. What enabled that family to move on was supporting friendships and affirming professional support. 

The traumatised trees can loose their life or return to life because of resilience. 

How do traumatised people return to life! Some can go through memories of anger, and grieving over the losses. Some remained stunted emotionally and socially in spite of some experiences of recovery. Some others found new strength and motivation to leave the mantle of sorrow and disappointment and work on healing experience inwardly. 

In the biography of Rev Henry Nouwen, there was a turning point when he turned his loneliness to 'essential aloneness' to find the recovery path, which is referred to in his book, Seeds of Hope, page13. 

Let me quote:" Instead of running away from our loneliness, or trying to forget or deny it, we have to protect it and turn it into a fruitful solitude. To live a spiritual life we must first find the courage to enter in to the desert of our loneliness and to change it by gentle and persistent efforts in to a garden of solitude. This requires not only courage but also a strong faith. As hard as it is to believe that the dry, desolate desert can yield endless varieties of flowers, it is equally hard not to imagine that our loneliness is hiding unknown beauty. The movement from loneliness to solitude, however, is the beginning of any spiritual life because it is the movement from restless senses to the restful spirit, from the outward-reaching cravings to the inward-reaching search from the fearful clinging to the fearless free play.....These are hard questions because they come forth out of our wounded hearts, but they have to be listened to even when they lead to a difficult road. This difficult road is the road to conversion, the conversion from loneliness into solitude"

A psychotherapist with background in theology, musicology, and religion, Thomas Moore in his book, A Life at Work, The joy of discovering what you were born to do, referring to the alchemists in the introduction to the book, wrote that, " An alchemist approached his work as though his life was dependent on it. He believed that the opus is the most important thing you do in life. Your work is equally important, too, not just as a means of making a living but as the medium through which you become a person" (pX111).

The process of becoming a person is by recovery from the wounded state begins with opus, a life work to process our experiences and integrate with the calling to live purposefully. 

The willingness to enter into this process to meet with ourselves in the privacy of our life is the starting point to find fullness in life, living and learning. A ruler came to Jesus of Nazareth( Luke 18: 18-23) asking, 'Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' ! He having confessed that he followed the commandments of God from his youth, Jesus told him, 'sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor...' When the  ruler heard this he became sad as he was extremely rich. The undue attachment to his wealth, which possessed him to be a protector of his wealth, came as a hindrance to find freedom from enslavement to his material pursuit. 

The trees did not abandon their will to overcome and grow to be fruitful! But humans can stray and remain stranded without entering into the recovery process, as the path of solitude and processing  would involve going beyond the control of experiences or attachments that keep us entangled. 

I returned from the walk in the garden, aware of hope that dwells within each of us, hope that leads us to cross the bridge to the other side of daily living beyond despair, anger or loss!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

The realities in a garden!

The tree bed in a garden is worth noticing to understand, how the trees face some adverse situations due to different climatic conditions.  

The above trees got gradually got affected by soil erosion, from its bed that the roots remain exposed partly. This is a risk, when the ground is sloppy and the rain water in its force carries away the top soil, which when occurs, the roots are exposed. The rain water flows in its course in the direction where is no obstruction or resistance. 

The soil reclaiming by replacing the soil or managing the erosion by engineering the environment are regular activities in most gardens where tall trees grow. 

The pictures below show the different methods used, in the same garden to protect trees. There are some trees protected by erecting a bed around it which can also be used as a platform for other activities such as a picnic spot. 

I noticed terracing the ground, greening the ground with grass, and protecting the plant bed with erection of stone work around the plant as measures commonly used to protect the plant bed. 

These steps seem to protect the trees and keep the ground safe from erosion of soil rain water. I also noticed steps towards rain water harvesting which means, that the rain water flow is directed in one direction  sparing the tree bed from the direction its flow. 

The ant hill around this tree did not favour its growth as the ants would have created hollow in the ground. 

The fig tree below spreads wide its branches and foliage that it creates shade even in mid day, which does not allow anything to grow under its shade. The areas beyond the shade of the tree was protected by lawn grass which seemed to work well in this instance. Such plants which obstruct light ought to be planted in parts of the garden where such trees do not harm other  vegetation. 

A garden or developing a wooded area need planning and conditioning to the weather conditions of the area. 

I found visiting gardens giving indications of the considerable attention that is given to preserve plant life and protect from soil protection. Often re-engineering of the environment would be needed as one would not have envisaged all the possible scenarios of the future. 

One common feature I noticed in a hilly terrain is to grow pepper creepers around tall trees so that the pepper plant keeps the soil around  the tree protected from soil erosion. The terracing of the land in to different levels with walls and creating water pathways seem to work in most situations. 

The tiling of the ground that is practiced in the courtyard of the houses,  or outside the offices or residential high rise complexes is a good practice for water harvesting. In some places, water harvested, is what is used for watering the garden, which keeps the subsoil moist and keeps the ground water level stable. 

I felt amazed how so much efforts are put into conservation of soil and protection of tree bed. 

A verse from the Bible, in the book of Genesis (2:15) came to my mind as I was walking back after a stroll in the garden, "Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it". It was a garden with four rivers with trees of all sorts. 

The call to keep is full of scope and responsibility. In the parable of the Talents in Matthew's gospel, a man who was about to go on a journey 'entrusted his possession' to his own slaves ( 26:14-30). 

The message on both instances looked alike to me. While attending to some repair to the garage space yesterday, the painter said, 'it is too old'. That was when I became aware of the efforts that go into keeping what is entrusted ! To keep would mean using and guarding what is entrusted! 

Our life is given to us to live vicariously and altruistically! How do I live my life! Do I live mindfully as a keeper of what is given to me!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)