I watched this Woodpecker outside the gate of our cottage while I was driving out to go to work a few days ago. There are a few Woodpeckers who frequent our garden and this is one of them. I noticed this bird to be alone on most days, while the others were often in pairs.
Most of the interior roads I take for my travel to the hospital can be long stretch without spotting any pedestrian or motorist.
There are many times we feel alone in our places of work, or in places we get involved. The pattern is of movement and stretching out into the future. Those of us who do not get in to that pace of living can feel outdated and not trendy in the sights of others.
A student who wants to stay trendy in his attire told me the other day, that he gave up on the idea as the trends change almost every six months and he was not able to cope with such an approach financially.
How are we to be when we pursue a call in our lives which does not seem to be trendy or a common path that people tread on!
A word that has become more meaningful to me recently is 'vulnerability'. When a person has an opinion or a pursuit which stands apart from what is common, one might loose some friends or not find resources at one's disposal.
Those vulnerable occasions are formative seasons in our lives. To be alone on a journey is a difficult experience. The pathfinders suffer from the risk of detours and change of directions.
Late Professor C.K.Job, a former Principal of Christian Medical College, Vellore who pioneered research into the pathology of nerve inflammation and damage, in patents suffering from Leprosy, faced several discouragements in the initial years of his research, almost compelling him to give up till he found an experimental model to culture Lepra bacilli. Those fifteen years or so were years of discouragements. He referred to that period as gestational time in pathfinding.
As I look back almost forty years in my involvement in child development work with children who are neuro-developmentally challenged, I have a similar sense about a pathfinding journey that took longer years than I anticipated.
At the end of this forty years, what brings some fulfilment is a perspective that developed in my understanding about the concept of 'causal pathway' that lead to developmental challenges in children. The causal pathway has different components or risk factors behind each of the developmental dysfunction in children. As more factors that contribute to the causal pathway emerged during my search, I found more clarity as to why some children do well and others not so well even though they have a similar primary developmental dysfunction. The primary developmental dysfunction is not the deciding factor in the evolution of the developmental outcome but other factors- nutritional, metabolic, sleep, intercurrent infections, home environment, early learning opportunities, etc. Now that there are some definitive association with some of these factors in child development of developmentally challenged children, I feel comforted for having tarried for a long period in this journey of enquiry! Yes it was a lonely and vulnerable path, more disturbing than I anticipated!
There are times, when we are left alone!
When we feel that we are alone, I remind myself that the coconut tree provides shelter for the wood pecker for developing its skills in climbing and pecking. The road, although lonely at times, provides a path to travel to a destination.
A tree and a road, both are symbols of a good God who carries us in the path finding journey!
I recall the journey of forty years as fulfilling as Anna patiently and confidently provided the companionship. Her contribution through a double blind study to prove the benefit of single dose of Diazepam at night for muscle relaxation in children with hypertonia in Central Motor Disorders became internationally accepted with several citations.
The path finding journey is difficult; but that is the only option left to those who feel the call to beyond the edge!
M.C.Mathew (text and photo)
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