Birds remember other avians !

A pair of Bulbuls did not leave the water bath even after they had their share of water and feed at the feeding station. One of them engaged in bird calls for a few minutes before they flew off !

I suppose the bird was announcing to other birds about the feeding station and water bath!

The Bulbuls do this while feeding on the feeding table. 

They remember other birds!

Such examples of mindfulness show us the way we can be living as neighbours to others! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Birds, Flowers and Fruits !

The twilight is a transition time at dawn. It is an interface between darkness and light. It is a short period and yet is an interface each day. 

I have noticed that there is an interface between winter and summer. It is a short time of spring. 

During that season which is now getting over for this year, I noticed three changes in the garden. We are left with only a few visiting birds, with the day temperature rising many birds seem to have migrated to cooler places. 

The flowers bring vibrancy to the garden. Most of the flowering plants bear the blossoms which make the garden look alive and colourful. The jasmine bushes and the rose bushes around our cottage make the front garden look colourful. 

All the fruit bearing trees have fruits getting ready for harvest. This is the season for cashew,  jackfruit, Rambutan, and Peters in the garden!

The 'spring time' is therefore a short time which brings anticipation and delight. 

In a conversation with some parents in a group, I found parents feeling surprised that the head circumference in the first year of life increases nearly by 10 centimetres, suggesting that it is the fastest growing phase of brain in human development. It is a sign of the brain differentiating into multiple functional areas and lateralising the functions in to two hemispheres of brain. It is during this time the  brain  receives, processes and retain memories of emotional, visual, auditory, sensory, motor, and kinaesthetic experiences to form the grounding, upon which the brain ensembles all association to develop cognitive, language, social and behavioural  functions. 

The parental active interactive involvement with a baby in the first year is a defining interface for developing the usual primary experiences of infancy. 

The parental absence of interaction or its replacement with visual media exposure deprives the brain of all the human interface that brain is wired to process physiologically during infancy. The visual media of animation, flashy movements, colour and machine language are foreign to an infant brain. Yet when the brain is exposed to it for hours in a day during infancy, the brain conditions itself to such an input suppressing the receptivity to normal human interactive efforts. The machine language environment fails the brain to develop its usual physiological pathway of neurogenesis, gliogenesis and synaptogenesis modulated by the normal social and emotional engagement from primary care givers. The physiological acquisition of information and processing that brain was originally primed during infancy gets impaired !  

Let me say the first two years in the life of a child from birth is the spring time of childhood, where the first time experiences become formative for their subsequent neuro-maturational development. The cognitive, social, emotional and language development and pre-school skill acquisition are dependent on the experiences of infancy and toddler seasons. 

If childhood of the first three years since birth, was a season of hours of exposure to visual media, then parental attention ought to turn to get a child experience the normal social, interactive, communicative and engaging environment through multiple indoor and outdoor play based activities. It is yet another transition time to redeem childhood pathway of learning through exploration, observation, interaction and social communication !

A home is the garden of life for pre-school children. It is a spring time of opportunity for priming children to grow up in the human interface and not machine interface!

M.C.Mathew ( text and photo)

 

 

Behaviour is acquired !

One of the habits of Birds, worth watching is their feeding behaviour. While looking through the photos of feeding style of Barbets, I noticed  that they take a large portion of the fruit between the beaks and swallow it slowly by stretching the neck upward.  This is a regular pattern I notice in most of the collections of photo I have. 

The Bulbuls practice another form of feeding. They feed on small portions and feed more aesthetically. 

It occurred to me that habits of birds can therefore be species specific. 

The Barbets seem to focus on feeding in private  at the feeding station, whereas Bulbuls are sociable and communicative with bird calls to each other in between their feeding. 

It is when we see different behaviours in others, we are awakened to recognise our own patterns and practices.  

While listening to a family, who spoke to me about their son and their concerns about his behaviour, I realised that the origin of his behaviour is attributable to the behaviour in some members of the family. He acquired his behaviour by watching others. 

I find the study of behaviour a means to recognise patterns and practices in children!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

Returning to be neighbours!

The garden around our cottage is a  place where birds receive their feed, grow and become a flight station for regular visits. 

Many birds thrive near human habitations. That is where they would find food, shelter and avian social life! 

With the onset of an  early summer, cutting short the spring season, many birds have moved away from our garden!

We have few birds still visiting the feeding station at dawn. During the rest of the day till sunset the garden is silent with hardly any bird calls or movements. 

The weather changes made them move to safer places. 

The war cary has become louder in the last tow days, with the president of the USA using 'adolescent language' to express his frustration over Iran,  resisting to surrender to the military might of the USA.

It was yesterday, we remembered the resurrection event; today we are back to the ugly side of human greed, authoritarian rule, condescending attitude towards those who are 'weak' ! 

What a contrast !

The adult birds were feeding the juvenile birds in the first two photographs above! 

To me that symbolises the way of living to promote life by taking care of the weak! 

The language in the air during this war phobia is to punish the weak! 

We need another language of human conduct and behaviour, where we ' love our neighbour as ourselves' ! 

I found this pair of Bulbuls announcing the language of love as a call, to the leaders of the world to return to live as neighbours!

On Easter Monday morning, this message is a resonance from the cross, empty tomb, and the sea shore where Jesus visited the disciples with breakfast, who had gone back to fishing (John 21:12-17) !

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

The journey of the perplexed !

The first photo above is a story of the past and the present with blossoming flowers and flowers which faded away. One can stay occupied by the past or be drawn by the present. 

The second and the third photos bring another message. The present subsumes the past. The past has a continuity with the present, but the present engages our attention. The spider in the second photo reinforces that message even more! The blossoming flowers become a home for the spider. The flowers live their purpose of being open to give! The third photo announces that vividly!

On this Easter morning, these thoughts spring a searching question within me about the experiences of women and Peter who went to the tomb of Jesus on the third day after His crucifixion !

The women, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James along with other women, having been told by two men at the tomb, "why do you seek the living One among the dead?" returned from the tomb and "reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest" (Luke 24: 1-12). 

For those who heard them, these words, "appeared  to them as nonsense and they would not believe them".

What followed is even more disturbing. Peter 'arose and ran to the tomb, stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home 'marvelling' at that which had happened.

The women became messengers of the good news and Peter remained self absorbed marvelling at what happened, still absorbed with crucifixion.  The women joined the fellowship of the wounded disciples and found strength to gain hope and faith !

The flowers above were open and fragrant and became a home for a spider. 

Peter belonged to the eleven who took the words of women that Jesus had risen as 'nonsense'. Yet He did not return to be with them to authenticate that Jesus was no more in the tomb after he saw an empty tomb. He went home marvelling or doubting ! 

Peter, a follower of Jesus, who confessed to Jesus that 'Thou art the Christ' failed to remember the words of Jesus that He would suffer and die but will rise on the third day. Where as the women, who heard the two men speak to them at the tomb, that '"He son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again" remembered these words. 

The women remembered to believe and to announce the good news to the eleven disciples. Peter in spite of seeing an empty tomb, could not go beyond the experience of crucifixion and his painful recollection of his own denial of Jesus!  He retreated to stay at home. He failed to authenticate the message of the women to the disciples and others gathered by his own testimony of the empty tomb. 

In the narration of the visit to the tomb in the John's gospel,  Peter with another disciple went to the tomb. The other disciple ran ahead of Peter,  entered the tomb twice and saw the linen cloth and face-cloth, following which he believed that Jesus had risen (John 20: 3-10). Peter too entered the tomb. Both went to their home following this. 

The resurrection scene highlighted two contradictory responses to the first hand experiences of seeing an empty tomb! The women remembered the words of Jesus that He would rise again and believed it.  Peter could not go beyond staying occupied with the event of crucifixion! The women became enablers to help the eleven disciples to believe. Peter stayed occupied with himself and lost sight of his companions who needed an affirmation that Jesus had risen! Peter might have been helped by the other disciples to overcome the guilt of his denial of Jesus to believe and wait for the forthcoming mystery to unfold. 

In John's  narration, we get to see the 'unbelieving' Peter announcing to some disciples that, 'I am going fishing' to which  the other disciples said, 'We will also come with you' 9John 21: 3). That is a disappointing turn of events. This happened after Jesus had appeared a few times to be with His disciples after He had risen (John 20:19-29)! I suspect Peter is portrayed in this narration as one who lived suffering following his denial of Jesus. 

I come back to the first photo above. The three women saw the new blossoms. The disciple Peter was still engaged with the fallen flowers- Jesus who died and his detail of Jesus! An unbelieving or yet to be reconciled Peter led even other disciples to a path of 'denying' their call to be followers of Jesus, by returning to their profession of fishing! 

The transition from the thoughts on the death of Jesus to His resurrection is  an experience! 

The three women who went to the tomb of Jesus, were 'perplexed' about how the stone of the tomb was rolled away. They found the body of Jesus missing! It was to those who were perplexed came the clarification from two men at the tomb in 'dazzling apparel'! That is the hope to all those who feel weary while on a pilgrim journey! 

In the novel, The Alchemist, Santiago, a young Andalusian shepherd boy,  having a pursued his dream of searching after a treasure, began digging at the foot of the Egyptian pyramid, was told by a stranger that he saw a dream of a treasure hidden near a ruined chapel, which reminded Santiago of the place where he used to rest while shepherding his sheep. He returned abandoning his search and dug the ground to find his treasure.  Paulo Coelho's vivid portrayal of finding a treasure following  a chaotic and turbulent 'pilgrim journey' brings an affirming message to all those who remain perplexed in the journey of life! 

Peter did not confront his 'perplexed state' but quickly moved to stay 'marvelled' and withdrew to his home. He chose to avoid an enquiring or clarifying journey by being in the company of those who were also perplexed and searching! He insulated himself in the security and privacy of his home! The marvelling experience did not make him exuberant but subdued him to dwell on the theme of death of Jesus and not beyond! 

I suppose the three women and Peter were mid lifers! The three women faced a mid-life  stress of death of their master, with an open mind searching for meaning beyond. They were guided to the mystery of resurrection. 

Peter while engaging a mid-life loss, returned to his home, to stay occupied with the loss ! 

There is a journey beyond stress and loss in mid life! The women made that journey initially to the tomb, and then on to real life by becoming messengers of resurrection to people who were caught in mid life stress and loss. Peter journeyed home, where he prolonged dwelling on his loss! 

When I noticed this sight of jasmine bush giving forth buds, I wondered, if this is a symbol of the hope that sustains us during times of perplexed state in our lives !

There is a dawn beyond every  sunset!

M.C.Mathew( text and photo)

  
  

Overcoming the loss!

I gathered these photos from our garden, of buds in different rose bushes while recollecting the Easter morning.  Mary and other women prepared spices to visit the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth on the third day after His burial. What they witnessed was the open tomb, linen cloth in the tomb and tomb otherwise empty! 

What occupied my attention was the event of the Holy Saturday when the women gathered to recall, recollect and prepare for the third day! 

According to the narrative of Luke in his gospel, 'They returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment ( Luke 23:56).

The women prepared the spices and perfumes and rested on the sabbath. 

Their act of preparing the spice and perfume was a symbol of loss, grief and regard for Jesus. They were occupied with His death. 

But they also rested on the sabbath, which reflects their state of trust and hope! 

They turned the sabbath from being a fretful, anxious and grieving day to a day of returning to God to trust, rest and revive hope. They prepared the spice to honour Jesus on the third day after His death. 

Mary and women lived in the interface between life and death on the Holy Saturday. But that interface was also was pregnant with the truth of resurrection on the third day. That promise of resurrection which Jesus referred to, in His discourse had escaped their attention. They compound their grief because they could not trust resurrection to be a reality! 

When I watched the buds in the rose bushes, I felt fascinated by the vigour with which each branch in the plant has grown to bear a bud ! Each plant has a celebrant look when becoming ready to flower, with the leaves looking ornamental and adorable. The prelude to the flowering stage is a colourful phase of the leaves and the buds waiting to open. The plant life affirms hope and purpose! 

All the new branches grew to bear buds following the pruning of the plants!

It is this that makes the preparation of spices and perfume by Mary and women appear as a  redundant act! The spices and  the perfume affirm death and loss !

The nuclear war that ended the second world war brought death and catastrophic effects. But what followed was an upsurge of human resilience leading to scientific, educational, infrastructural, cultural and humanitarian development that heralded a new world order of peace and multilateralism. 

We still mourn the holocaust and lives lost in the concentration camps and  warfare. What followed by way of progress and development transcended the loss !

We too grieve over the imposed war on West Asia, and Middle East by one nation, whose president is obsessed with 'Make America Great Again'!  We live with the pain of death and destruction while nations wage war to impose power and control with least consideration of human suffering!  One of the first acts the current president of the USA resorted to soon after taking office was to suspend the global humanitarian activities of USAID. It is the same president who is now escalating war and violence! It is yet another form of 'crucifying' the human virtue of goodness, wellness and togetherness as pilgrims on earth! 

And yet, I feel drawn by the truth of the Holy Saturday. There is on one side the grief forcing us to prepare the spices and perfume to mourn the loss! But on the other side is the promise of new life awaiting us, well beyond all expectations as a surprise, like what  Mary and others who went to the sepulchre of Jesus found on the third day- an empty tomb and a risen Jesus !

 

The Holy Saturday in our lives and in the lives of nations during this season of war is a long season of suspense and sorrow! 

A seven year old boy, who lost his kite to the strong wind in the beach, gathered news papers to prepare a kite as soon as he reached home. It was hope that sustained him. He did not stay subdued in grief! 

The photos of buds remind me on Holy Saturday which is a time to wait for the festival flowers ahead in the garden! So it is an invitation to look beyond spices and perfume !

Life is for living and overcoming the loss!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Symbols of the message of Good Friday in the garden!

I noticed three metaphorical symbols in the flowers that reminded me of the events on the cross on Good Friday, when Jesus was crucified. 

The first photo of cluster of flowers symbolised to me of the darkness of injustice that crucified Jesus even after Pilate declared that 'I find no fault in Him' and washed his hands off any guilt on consenting to crucify an innocent person! I found ants feeding on the nectar in the first photo of flowers. Jesus hanging on the cross became a life giver to those who crucified Him through His prayer, 'Father forgive them for they do not know what they do"! One thief who was crucified with Him found himself forgiven because Jesus turned to this confessing thief and said: 'You shall be with me in paradise today' ! The darkness was transformed into hope for all humanit and to the thief on the cross!  

The second photo of the flower symbolised to me of the cross figuratively, which  reconciles human relationships with each other and with God. Jesus on the cross suffered to bring healing to humankind.

The third photo of cluster of flowers brought the message of grace, peace and forgiveness that resonates in human hearts on Good Friday!

Journey from the Jerusalem temple to Golgotha was a self giving journey for Jesus, even when His followers deserted Jesus! He lived His calling to fulfil His earlier saying: 'I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly' ! In fact he had such a consciousness about His mission in life even at 12 years when He was found by His parents engaged in conversation with priests in the temple. 

The prophet Isaiah made an appeal to people of his time: 'Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and righteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him; And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:7).

The Good Friday  reminds us of darkness but invites us to experience   grace, peace, healing and forgiveness  by seeking for God. 

When Pope Leo called out to the leaders of the nations involved in the current war in West Asia, in his Palm Sunday homily, it was an invitation to experience the grace, peace, healing and forgiveness that Good Friday offers to us! 

The Hymn written by Augustus M Toplady summarised for me the call of Good Friday:

"Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee;

Let the water and blood,

From Thy wounded side which flowed

Be of sin the double cure:

Cleanse me form its guilt and power.

Not the labour of my hands,

Can fulfil Thy law's demands;

Could my zeal no respite know,

Could my tears forever flow

All for sin could not atone; 

Thou must save, and Thou alone. 

Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling.

Naked, come to Thee for dress;

Helpless, look to Thee for grace.

Foul, I to the fountain fly;

Wash me saviour or I die...."

The above scenes of flowers in our garden brought to me metaphorically the message of Good Friday in a way we felt touched! 

One purpose of a tree is to bear fruits ! This tree above is full of fruits now. 

Jesus of Nazareth lived as an offering to others. 

At the cross, He became the ultimate offering of love, grace, peace  and forgiveness! 

The flower vase in our central table reminded us of the abundance of that grace reaching out from the cross, through the way the jasmine flowers brought fragrance all around!

This brings a call to a way of living- seeing, hearing, feeling and forgiving!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)