The strain of the day!

The flowers above inner garden show the brunt of the summer heat. Their dull, and worn out appearance make them stand out, among some other flowers below, which seem to withstand the 39 degree celsius of the day. 

A garden is a living demonstration of how the existential situations leave marks of stress!

The lawn below, has withstood the heat and humidity to some extent and still looks green and inviting. Although it receives the sun for most part of the day, its ability to withstand the scorching heat is worthy of attention. The brownish tinge is noticeable only in portion of the lawn. 

Some flowers bear the marks of summer heat; some stay fresh as before and the grass on the ground has an in between appearance. 

I became aware during my walk that our life experiences are similar. We feel the adverse impact of some experiences and withstand many. We have also mixed experiences of delight and strain. 

The way, I tend to process them, is by auditing the journey marks on my mood and behaviour, if possible on a weekly basis.

It was a child of seven, who helped me to see this in a new light. While he was playing in the sand on the beach, his parents offered him roasted ground nuts, which they bought from the vendor, who came selling it. The boy, said,' I need to wash my hands before I can eat'!

His awareness to follow a routine gave me an insight about the good habits we need to cultivate for our emotional wellness. 

Almost every conversation or engagement leaves some marks of awakening or weariness within us. They accumulate to create a bag of  pleasant and unpleasant experiences. I felt that I need to create time to open the bag weekly, to process and be emotionally revived to go on. 

This personal de-briefing is a restorative exercise for protecting our emotional quotient to stay open to welcome experiences ahead of us. 

Our life, at home, work place, social settings, and in the neighbourhood gives us first hand experiences of the joys and travails of life! It is when we process them, they get integrated as meaningful pathways to lead us on to a life of learning and growing!

That is why contemplatives recommend from their life experiences  times of solitude, as an occasion to travel inward to become familiar with our inner world of thoughts, feeling and inclinations. 

We become who we can be, when we grow in intimacy with ourselves. It is during such times  of interior silence, we become our own friends. It is then we discover that God loves us and is waiting for us to experience the fullness of life!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)