The blooming lilies and fruiting tree!

Each day I find more lilies blooming in our garden!

Amidst the gloom of war in West Asia and Middle East, one keeps looking for signs of hope for peace and respite from further escalation!

Although there is no sign of any peace initiative in the horizon, with more Lilies flowering, I feel drawn by a mystery. The bulbs of Lilies remain in the soil dormant for most part of the year. At one time the bulbs give only foliage ! During this season every year, they give flowers. This season of about three months brings a colourful look to the garden!

All of us require consoling thoughts to bring rest to our soul when we live in a disheartening ambience of human suffering due to war! 

My first impression of seeing only one cashew fruit in each of the bunch of flowers above, brought a disappointed feeling. While staying with that thought, a consolation sprang within. Each of the cashew when ripe has the potential to be a seed, sapling and tree in future! The prospect of three trees from one tree in the future, with each tree blossoming to give many fruits! That changed the way I received this scene! There is more insight beneath than just the first impression in most instances. 

The above Lily flowers bring the message of blossoming in due season. The fruits bring the message of the prospect of the little multiplying! 

I have two photos of Berlin city, one covered in snow sent by a friend in December. The second photo from this friend is a recent one of the sign of spring in the garden!

             

I found this contrast to be a reconciling reality to live with. The current global situation is akin to a frozen season where harmony, peace and relationships remain hidden. But the spring shall be the norm sooner or later! 

I feel drawn by this message of hope the garden gives me when I feel visited by the blooming lilies dancing in the breeze!

A hymn comes to my mind:

"O Lord, all the world belongs to you;

And you're making all things new,

What is wrong, you forgive,

And the new life You give

Is what is turning the word upside-down

The world's loving to its friends;

But Your way of loving never ends

Loving enemies too

And this loving with you

Is what's turning the world upside-down.

The world lived divided and apart;

You draw, all together and we start

In Your body to see

That in fellowship we

Can be turning world upside-down...."

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

 

Life is for living in fullness !

The photos above are of plants where the plant itself becomes the flowers. The leaves are not present but only flowers present in the stem.

In the photo below the plants bear flowers and the plant and its foliage is the larger sight!

The plant below is a seasonal plant that it gradually fades away after the season of flowering. 

All the three forms of flowering above in a garden symbolise the message of life! 

Life is for living ! Living by flowering in different ways. 

I came across a congregation resolving to befriend all alcohol dependent members of the congregation and others in their neighbourhood to find ways to bring them out of their habit. They made a start by visiting the homes of such people as the first s move step. The priest who initiated this move referred to alcohol dependant people as those who can have a new life to live fully, peacefully and freely! They can bring a 'flowering presence' to their homes! 

I felt disturbed by the suggestion of an activist group that one out of every fifth adult is at risk of becoming a habitual alcohol user from the risk projection they make! It is one factor that turns homes into battle fronts of abuse and violence !

The thought of seeing lives 'wasting away' without flowering is disturbing and painful! 

There is a fullness and abundance the plants bring through their presence in the garden ! 

That is the calling for humans in the garden of life!

I wish all churches have a de-addiction service for people in its neighbourhood!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

 

The spring time !

Although we are disturbed by the news of war and violence, most of us feel refreshed by the spring flowers we see around us. Anna and I receive flowers from friends in Europe to have glimpse of the beginning of springtime after a severely cold season !

 

I noticed today morning Rambutan flowers turning into fruit bearing stage ! That is another event in the springtime!

Poets, writers and artists refer to the springtime of the soul in their narratives and writings. 

It is an experience they refer to, when a person comes to be in touch with one's own consciousness transcending all that occupies the mind! It is like finding still water about ten feet below the turbulent sea surface !

The stillness within us is what our most being offers us when we take time to be quiet and move away the wanderings and thoughts of the mind. Our mind is only the first layer of our consciousness where most of us feel comfortable to stay as it is a known and familiar space. 

The soul is less familiar space of consciousness within as the door to its expanse opens only when we wait in silence. This form of interior silence draws us to a consciousness, where we discover a language of love, confession, forgiveness, kindness, thoughtfulness, peace and hope! 

In the book, God has a dream, Archbishop Desmond Titu tells the story of Nelson Mandela in the chapter, Seeing with the eyes of the heart (p71-74). Nelson Mandela as a member of African National Congress was leading its armed wing. He was forthright and a belligerent activist.  He was sentenced to imprisonment. He spent 27 years in prison out of which 18 years was in Robben island where he was forced to break stones into small pieces. He was an angry person when he was imprisoned, but he came out of prison with a forgiving spirit that he set up the Truth and Reconciliation commission, when he   became the president of the first independent South Africa. That commission which brought a reconciling conversation between communities diffused the communal tension and conflict that was predicted by many. Nelson Mandela suffered but was transformed  to practice forgiveness as the language of his leadership. Bishop Tutu refers to the change of consciousness that Mandela experienced because Mandela believed  that 'God loves your enemies'. 

This is the fruit of soulful living! We travel beyond the natural and temporal and experience the depth within us, which is a spiritual consciousness and ambience. 

I saw a photo of many priests laying their hands on the president of the USA while praying! I felt moved by that sight because it was intended to bring a soulful experience to desire peace and conciliation! 

This is a spring time! I long for it to become a soulful time for the leaders of nations engaged in war!

There is an alternative to war ! That is the spring time of harmony, peace and fraternal belonging!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

  

Seeker and finder!

Watching this Magpie robin foraging in or garden for its feed was an awakening experience for me ! 

I have noticed Magpie robins in the garden moving around searching for their feed on earlier occasions.  After finding  a berry and feeding on it, this Magpie robin was seen on a tree searching for crawling insects on a stem. The Magpie robin searches where feed can be found! It takes what is given !

I noticed a Barbet in our garden while being on its feeding sprawl. It also takes what is given by the garden. 

Birds receive what is given by nature! 

A sunbird finds its nectar and a squirrel and Bulbul find their feed at the feeding station in our garden!

All the photos above tell a  story of taking what is given! 

But what is another human story that we come across among the civilised nations! 

Have they become grabbers? We can take what we need or grab because we are driven by greed!

I feel disturbed when I explore this theme further. I suspect that greed creates an irresistible pressure to grab and possess, when material wealth acquisition becomes the motivation to live for!

A senior citizen living alone with his retirement benefits cooks meal for three others each day to deliver a lunch packet to each of them in the neighbourhood who are bedridden! Although their families take care of the sick member, the retired senior citizen offers one meal every day for them. He is not tired of doing this for them because, he believes, that 'he was given enough to share with others'!

That is living with a vocation as against living for acquisition!

Birds thrive on taking what they are given! 

A visually impaired lady who was qualified in the civil service examination, said, ' I was helped at very step of my learning journey'! 

That is a pointer to what giving to enable others can do to make a difference !

The birds are seekers and finders to take what they need!

They are not seekers to grab and dispossess others of their due portion!

It is in this light I view the current war imposed on Iran! One nation far away usurps the power to destabilise a sovereign nation out of its own covetousness and finds an ally in one another nation that has eliminated a neighbouring country to exist in violation of the post send world war consensus. The leadership of Venezuela was eliminated and its fossil oil is feeding a greedy nation!

I suppose we live in a world of opportunities when unjust practices dominate!

During a recent visit to one of the north eastern states, I happened to hear from some families who suffered from the ethnic conflict in Manipur lasting over two years now, about the immense help they received for the education of their children from strangers, They sponsored the education of children in boarding schools! Those families spoke about how much they were 'given' during this troubled times!

While the world is a home for 'takers and grabbers', it is also a hospitable place for givers ! That is a reason for celebration and living with hope !

A hymn by Fred Kaan, Help us to accept each other, summarised the inner longing that most of us live with:

"Teach us Lord, our lessons, 

As in our daily life,

We struggle to be human,

And search for hope and faith.

Teach is to care for people,

For all, not just some,

To love them as we find them,

Or as they become.

Let your acceptance change us,

So that we may be moved,

In living situations

To do the truth in love.

To practise Your acceptance,

Until we know by heart

The table of forgiveness,

And laughter's healing art.

Lord, for today's encounters

With all who are in need,

Who hunger for acceptance,

For righteousness and bread,

We need new eyes for seeing,

New hands for holding on,

Renew us with Your Spirit,

Lord free us, make us one."

 

M.C. Mathew( text and photo) 

The International day of women 2026 !

On this day, which is remembered as the International day of women, I revisited the series of photos I have of a mother bird feeding a juvenile Barbet. As the bird grew into the juvenile stage, it began taking the food from the beaks of the mother bird. Earlier in the fledgling state, the mother bird fed into the mouth of the fledgling.  

A woman is a person; an adult, a single person or a wife, a mother, a home maker and a professional at work place....!

A woman is not only a giving person but a self giving person! She is often involved in multiple caring roles at home and outside the home! She offers herself and her body to conceive a baby, nurse a baby and care for the baby through childhood formation. 

This is  more than just giving, but self-giving !

A woman lives her vocation! As a married person, while becoming a mother she gifts her heritage to bring another generation into being! She makes all the adjustments through pregnancy to give the baby a home in her body first and later in the physical space of her home !

I have observed it closely in the way Anna welcomed her roles and transitions with readiness and cheerfulness!  

Is it not to a mother an infant or toddler returns when  he or she needs comfort and consoling! It is from Anna I receive all my support, encouragement and timely guidance for health and wellness! The way she offers that spontaneously, voluntarily and thoughtfully surprises me !

According to Carl Jung, every woman has a deep seated unconscious masculine  side which he referred to as animus. According this theory, a man has a feminine side to his life, which Jung advocated as anima.

The woman cultivates the masculine side spontaneously by accepting roles which help her to integrate her animus with her womanhood. I understand from my reading that a man does not integrate the anima as well as the woman who grows up with a wholesome view of gender roles. 

I remember reading about seven feminine Archetypes: The Maiden, The mother, The queen, The huntress, The mystic, The sage, and the Lover. 

How refreshing and revealing it is to think of woman through the optic of the above archetypes! The archetype is understood as primal image, character and inwardness of a person present in the unconscious' !

It is this foundational aspect of a woman that diffuses or disarms the male dominated gender infiltration that has got blended into different domains in our society!

When Ms Jacinda Ardern, the former prime minister of New Zealand relocated to Australian recently,  there is a search for the reason. Many of us would remember that she was used to carry her baby to the cabinet meetings and parliament to nurse and care for the baby without interruption.  At one stage after she stabilised the country during the  corona pandemic, she stepped down from the office of the prime minister and did not even seek reelection to the parliament.  Her popularity in the electorate was high that that there was no threat for her continuity! 

But she chose motherhood and time away from politics. Is that the only reason, I do not know! 

But the fact she did what she did attributes a status to women in our society.   She knew enough to be in the 'power' of leadership and had the discernment to set side the position easily at an opportune time of her choice! 

Do we see such an ability to let go of 'power' in the male dominated political hierarchy?

Here in the instance of Jacinda, she represents an archetype of the  Mystic,  the Sage and the Lover. She behaved differently from the rest of the leaders! I sense that she loved her freedom to choose! She chartered her course in life ! The political compulsions or her party's future did not make her surrender her freedom to be herself!

A woman is one who is potentially able to be herself in vocation and mission in life with freedom to shift between her archetypal roles! 

What a regard we men ought to have towards women!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

The wellness that radiates !

The above photographs of the cashew nut tree with different stages of  of the fruits tell us about the process and time associated with the formation. When one notices the different stages in the tree, at one time, it points to the way the tree attends to the different stages of growth. 

The soil is the home for the trees, bushes, creepers, plants and vegetables. The roots of these growing in different directions make a supporting structure to the trees and plants. The soil feeds the tress and plants and holds them upright above the soil surface. The holding power is strong enough to withstand the wind and storm. The soil feeds the trees and plants to bear flowers and Fruits. 

It was while visiting a family yesterday, Anna and I got yet another glimpse of the resilience of that family to withstand the disturbing events in their life. This elderly lady needs a support system to take care of her husband who is bed ridden with cognitive limitations following a road accident five years ago. The two care givers support her. She carries on with a full time job. Her three children live overseas. Recently she bid farewell to her mother-in-law at ninety three years. With the main care giver preoccupied with her domestic pressures was not available for about three weeks now. Yet the way she narrated her story of these experiences in a reconciling way surprised us! We felt that she was alone facing an intensely demanding responsibility and yet holding on in hope and trust about better times ahead! This professor is currently involved in organising a continuing medical education workshop at the college where she works. Her enthusiasm and strength amazed us. We did not sense a complaining or a disheartening spirit in her outlook to life. 

The tree in the above photo seems to be flourishing with flowers and

fruits. This friend of ours is also flourishing amidst the trying situations she faces. 

Each of us has a story and experience. Who we become as we go through life is what matters at the end! 

Anna and I were reflecting on our experiences in life during the recent years. Both of us live in our cottage in a village where our social support is minimum. Our domestic helpers are caring and thoughtful. We stay in touch with our children and grandchildren. We have some on line engagements with professionals related to our specialities. Both of us are well physically. We felt overwhelmed by gratefulness for the general sense of wellness we experience. I wondered if we communicate that in our conversations!

What the visit to our friend did was to open our eyes to the way she lives amidst the enduring experiences in her life! She was resilient hopeful and self-giving. She conveyed fullness of life amidst her trying experiences. 

The fullness in life is an inner orientation which transcends the realities of circumstances. 

The cashew tree in our garden is thriving and bearing fruits. 

Is our sense of wellness reflected in our being and doing to bring encouragement to others ? We returned home with this thought! 

Life is for living fully and giving graciously!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

Communicating presence !

These flowers above in our garden tell stories of their distrinct features. The differences between them are many. But each of them is a flower with a colour, fragrance and delightful appearance. 

Every morning when I walk in the garden, I feel enthused by the confluence they bring to the garden. It is their togetherness which makes the flower bed a garden!

What makes a family?

I noticed two families next to our table in the restaurant when Anna and I had our evening meal yesterday. One family with their two children in early in childhood, seemed to lead the conversations in which parents participated. There was an atmosphere of openness and  communication. The children turned to us and smiled in between. The other family sat quietly and had their meal. 

During that half hour we noticed two patterns during their meal time. One family engaged each other in conversation during the meal and the other family ate their meal. 

This scene awakened within me two scenes that could be patterns in families. One family turned the meal time for fellowship and shared experiences and  in the other family each person seemed to confine to themselves. 

It is when each person is present to each other communicatively, the family life becomes a shared experience of joyful memories. It is when children grow up in that ambience they feel a traction to grow up relationally !

I did not notice the parents turning to the mobile phone in the family that engaged in  conversation. Both parents in the other family had the phone next to them, scrolling in between! 

The first family overcame distractions to be present to each other which brought a conversational ambience. The second family was distracted or preoccupied and not present to each other conversationally!

A family becomes relational only when becoming present to each other  conversationally is a pattern to build intimate relationships!

The garden is a colourful presence of flowers. 

A family is a place of communicating presence of all its members!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)