The movement of leaves in a nutmeg tree, about two hundred meters away in our garden alerted me of the presence of a bird. It turned out to be a Common arora.
I spotted a pair of them, a few minutes later in the tree in the front lawn. They were together in the tree with frequent conversational gestures between them.
In a few minutes, I found one of them picking fibrous strands from the hollow in the tree. On of them gathered enough between its beaks and flew off to the nutmeg tree, where I first noticed one of them.
I noticed a few sorties to gather the slender sticks for making their nest.
To me it became a message for 2024!
Both the birds were on a 'homeward' journey!
For Anna and myself, the year ahead will also be a time of making our home a place of our belonging.
This is one dimension that all retired people consider and respond to. With the home becoming the 'ground of their belonging', it is necessary to add routines and rituals to the daily rhythm to make the home a 'hallowed space' for mutuality, togetherness and intimacy.
Anna and I have got used to a routine from the time we have our coffee together before the day break. It is also a time to be quiet for reflection and foreseeing the events of the day. The two short breaks, when we get together during the morning, provide us time to talk about the garden, news items from the news papers and the chores which need attention. The meal times are usually times of sharing about our experiences of the day. The evening walk is usually a silent time giving us space to see, hear and feel. Dulcie and Daffny have a free run into the garden during this time. Their play brings a relaxing experience at the end of the day. There is a time of reading together we practice after dinner, which often brings thoughts that upbuild us. During the in between times in the morning and afternoon we both have a schedule of responsibilities which we attend to, the recent activity being writing and editing. The week ends have a slower pace when we make social visits, do the shopping or invite others home. The time we spend for gardening is another special time of the day two or three times in a week.
The way to bring nearness emotionally and experience communion through conversation is by making the time spent together meaningful and cordial. When there are matters to be talked about, we follow the practice to fix time to meet, that both of us are ready to listen and open to share our thoughts.
There is a traction to keep us occupied, which is why there ought to be conscious effort to share experiences to feel the movement towards each other in trust and openness.
The homeward movement is an inward experience, which is what adds to the richness of life at home!
We realise that we need to be ready to welcome children and grandchildren when they come to visit, so that the ambience of inwardness gets extended to them for them to feel connected and we have the opportunity to 'turn' younger in spirit!
M.C.Mathew (text and photo)
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