I noticed how the valley is thickly populated and how a mountain is sparingly occupied by human dwelling.
The Christian Fellowship Hospital at Oddanchatram is located in the cluster of these buildings in the photo above.
The building on this hill, overlooking the valley, is a retreat house developed by the Christian Fellowship Hospital to invite its staff and others to come and rest! This scenic space and comfortable facilities give the visitors the ambience they need for respite and recovery.
Such an initiative is rare among the hospitals and institutions that I know of.
Let me suggest, that it is an inclusive approach to support the health care professionals to live and serve from a state of wellness!
The Christian Fellowship has other exceptions in their practice. The members of the fellowship who work in the hospital draw an allowance and not a salary. That is nowhere near to the normal salary the professionals are entitled for. The hospital makes sure that everyone who comes to the hospital receives medical attention giving concession as much as possible to make the fees less burdensome. It is a place, where quality care is provided in a simple setting. The hospital has a simple appearance without the external frills associated with the corporate hospitals. The doctors live with their families in the campus. It offers post graduate training in some specialities. The hospital is involved in about thirty villages around to offer wholistic health care, attending to social wellness and income generation!
The retreat centre the hospital has at the Pachalur hills is a place for rest and respite for the hospital staff and others who want to use it for meetings and personal retreats. Dr K.O.John and Dr Kuruvella Varkey are two retreat leaders who take groups to this retreat centre for recollection and reflection.
Our lives are lived between peeks and valleys. The valley experiences of disappointments or struggles are often intertwined with pleasant and insightful experiences. This blend of happenings of difficulties and refreshing experiences make our lives rich and broad. Our lives get anchored in a deeper plane of consciousness of life's calling, when we travel through the diverse experiences. To find those experiences coherent, we need a listening attitude to our inner responses and interpretation of the circumstances through a perspective that emerges from our openness to the truths that Jesus of Nazareth expounded on living in the Sermon on the Mount.
Our lives have an existential dimension of daily chores and routines; an intuitive dimension from nurturing our spirit with God consciousness; a narrative dimension of living consciously and mindfully and an orientation to the future and its relevance for us today!
It is this awareness that enthused me after this visit to the retreat centre, Christian Fellowship hospital at Oddanchatram and Ambiliki.
To be in the interface between the valleys and peeks is what might be a realistic experience arising out of an open heart and open mind!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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