From Being to Becoming

I happened to spot three olive bee-eater birds below our garden recently. While two of them flew away, one of them remained. It spent about twenty minutes grooming its body moving from part to the other. No wonder the Bee-eater birds are know to have immaculately groomed body.

A bird from what it is, becomes what it can be. It is in the nature of most birds to become what it can be. The migratory birds travel hundreds of kilometres twice in a year. The birds even in extreme climatic conditions survive and find food. They breed and continue their lineage. They protect themselves from predators. Thy have an instinct to become what they are endowed to be. They usually do not stay where they are today. They improve upon the bird habits and practices. 

It has come to me as a message. I retired from full time professional work in June 2023. Now it is ten months since I have limited professional involvements. With more time available, I have pondered on meaningful engagement to become more people friendly. An opportunity has opened up to listen to younger professionals on phone. It introduced me to a new experience with people, whom I did not meet earlier,  but  wanted to talk to someone to feel supported and encouraged. It is now I realise, how listening can make me feel connected with the stories of people in another situation and culture

It is when we discipline ourselves to listen with our heart we become more humane. The stories of others would have resonance within us, when we listen and discern the situation of the one speaking. 

Now, I am on a journey to become a listener. As most of the conversations are about an hour, the discipline helps to let the speaker use most of the time, while I lead them to say more with guiding questions. I have had experiences of personal de-briefing while physically present to each other. It is a new experience to support people for their personal debriefing on phone.

Yes, it is another dimension of becoming! It points me to other ways of becoming which is still open to me! I participate in an on line clinical discussion of children with developmental challenges, where professionals from five institutions participate. To give an opinion from the history, clinical findings and laboratory data, without the physical examination of a child that I have been used to, is also a new learning process to become a listener, observer and thinker. 

Becoming from being what we are used to, is a starting point to go beyond, what we have so far envisioned for ourselves. 

It was when I watched the secret of the immaculately groomed body of the bee-eater, I felt within me an urge to explore beyond, good practices to become a support to others!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)