The above photos are of sights and scenes I noticed, while walking Daphne in the garden, when the there was a short pause of rainfall yesterday morning!
The Rambutan tree was full of golden looking fruits almost ripe to be plucked! The Ixora plant with its monsoon vigour decorated the lawn.
The garden had birds in different places, but no bird calls! The birds wee searching for their feed or feeding or resting after feed.
The rose plants after the pruning two months ago, were looking vibrant with shoots, buds and flowers.
Few butterflies were flying around looking for nectar!
What engaged me during the walk was how life was sustained in a garden by the rhythm in nature!
The rain and sunshine, winter and summer, and night and day constitute that rhythm.
A Hymn that originated from a Swedish poem by Carl Boberg (1859-1940) was inspired by thunderstorm and its aftermath. The nine stanza poem was translated into English, by Stuart K. Hine. Carl Boberg was caught in a violent thunder storm in 1885, following which was the calm evening with the sound of the church bells and the quiet sea, which inspired him to write the poem. Stuart K. Hine found the Russian version of this poem while in Ukraine and translated it into English in 1940. It became a global hymn after Dr Billy Graham used this hymn in his meetings in 1957. The hymn might have been based on the first two verses of the Psalm 19 and similar passages elsewhere in the Bible, as the Hymn points to seven other realities of the mystery God and His presence in human history!
"O Lord my God, when I awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds thy hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed;
Then sings my soul, my saviour God to thee;
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my saviour God to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down form the lofty mountain grader,
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze,
Then sings my soul...."
What made the walk special was also the way Daphne walked with me while I stopped at different locations to take the photographs above. She kept my pace. She wanted to be stroked now and then. She was certainly observant, which was obvious when the fluttering butterfly was moving between flowers.
A walk is not just a physical exercise alone! It is a time to be present to what we see or hear and allow that to initiate us to travel inward to sense the movements in our soul!
Our soul waits for us to become present to feel its silent insights and messages.
Daphne found this walk rather long as it had passed her breakfast time. But for her few gentle barks, reminding me to return to her kennel yard, I would have stayed longer in the garden! Even that became a message. Daphne was keen to keep her rhythm of having her breakfast on time!
The occasions to silently travel inward are sacred occasions of being at home with our inmost being where Truth abides!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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