The inner optic !

The recent spell of rains brought revival of the garden with new flowers! It is too early for the Lilies to blossom. But they will soon bring new look to the garden with the hedge around the front garden to our cottage colourful and florescent! 

The fruit bearing trees celebrate their presence; the Bulbuls feed at the feeding station... the garden is a place where fullness of life is  manifest now! 

A family sent photos of their baby, now nearing three months asking if they could visit us! 

The joy of life is all around us! 

This brings an awareness of how life on earth is cushioned by warm messages of hope and wellness to every human soul! I often drift from this consciousness when I feel carried away by the signs of ageing in my body! 

Paul the apostle of hope, who lived vocationally in uplifting others by his writings in the New Testament of the Bible, once referred to the human body in 2 Corinthians 4:7, "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us". He called his readers to live regardfully because the treasure of God's presence is the ambience of the human soul. 

I felt revived as I walked in the garden seeing the flowers and fruits, because they speak the language of giving away what was given to them. They live to blossom and bear fruits! 

An Oligarch who owns SpaceX is desperate to introduce his satellite communication net work, Starlink in India. But two other Indian Oligarchs who have monopoly of about 75 percent of the internet service in India offer stiff resistance. This is the struggle of those who are possessed by an acquisitive culture- to have more of the same ! They live and function anxiously and stressfully!

The eighty five years old jurist and South African voice of justice for those affected by war crimes, Ms Navanethem Pillay was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize of 2026. A commentator spoke of her as one 'who gave her voice to the voiceless at the United Nations, pleading for them to be treated regardfully by the nations who inflicted loss and pain'. Her response to the Nobel Prize, was, ' Did I do so much to get the Nobel prize'! She lives her life altruistically and compassionately bearing others in need ! 

The Oligarchs want more for themselves. People of Ms Pillay's lineage want more for people who suffer! 

A garden is a place of equal opportunities and space for all! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

 

A protest calls for discernment !

These flowers above at twilight in our garden carry water drops of the rain fall of the previous evening! They retain the water drops differently! 

Let me ask the police officers of New Delhi who are seen using physical force to restrain the protesters from arriving at the officially designated protest site of Jantar Mantir! Yes you did not give permission for the protesters to meet at Jantar Mandir, but have you negotiated with the protestors to accept conditions to protest at the site peacefully?

Instead the police is seen using physical force on boys and girls. I remember seeing photos of girls suspended in the air by four police personnels holding them in the hands and legs! The police argues that they are doing their duty and are only following the orders of superiors. 

Let me ask the police officials who are decision makers: Do you realise that you are at risk of inflicting physical injury and emotional trauma of post-traumatic stress disorder on some of the protestors which would impair their emotional wellness ?

Don't you, let me ask the police personnel, assault the protestors, who come for a peaceful protest?  Do they not have a right to ask how 13 crores of people are dropped from the voter's list, among which there are many among them, if the reports are dependable. 

Let me suggest to the police officials and the decision makers of the government involved in suppressing the protest- What you do forcibly affects the  students differently like what we see in the photos above  of the water particles on the rose flowers. The flowers receive the water drops differently! The third flower is almost soaked in water drops. 

Is this not the way these young people also respond  to fear, threat, force and physical hurt you inflict on them?  Some of them receive it mildly, some others hurtfully and some others sufferingly for a long time to come! 

Should the police officers who are well versed in behaviour psychology resort to such a risk of emotional trauma to young people who by the virtue of exercising freedom of expression granted in the constitution, protest in large numbers! Why are you equating peaceful protest with potentially violent? 

Let me present the flower cluster below to all the police officers and their decision makers! You are harming the young people of this country in a hurting manner who are the delight of this country.  They are the promise of this country bringing their talents, aspirations and skills for the wellness of people in the future. Are you not harming the 'soul'  of india who would be the future leaders of India in all walks of life? 

I agonise over the silence of the Prime minister and the Home Minister of india even after the United Nations took notice of this police excess and made an appeal to release all the young people taken into custody from all over the country. Even people travelling in trains were taken into custody and parents had to go to the high court in Delhi to get them released. 

The honourable Supreme Court of India restrained the central government of India from closing the metro railway stations in Delhi, cancelling trains arriving in Delhi and closing the roads for traffic. From what  I read in the newspapers, this was not honoured. Some activists have approached the court today for an urgent hearing on the disregardful attitude of the government to the earlier direction of the court to act with restrain. 

A nation is a cradle for its citizens to live well, engage democratically and communicate dissent when needed. 

The government is a servant of people, because the ministers are the elected representative of people who repose faith in them to act regardfully and circumspectly!

Why is that the government did not engage negotiators and intermediaries to find a way forward through dialogue to avert the protest!  The elected members of the parliament go to the voters appealing for votes every five years. When people have a grievance, instead of listening, enquiring and addressing the grievance, is suppressing them by force a fair practice? 

A press reporter commented that since the protests started a few months ago, the young people did not resort to violence in any of their protests. It is admirable and the young people bring dignity and credibility to their protests. They have the good of the country and its people at heart! 

I wonder whether the President of india will take a role to bring a peaceful transition to the tense situation! 

Let me suggest to the decision makers in the government, that we differ from harming the growing generation of young people in India. 

Just as the black pepper creepers are still growing with the fruits, as in the above photo, the young people of India are growing! We harm them and their future only to deprive ourselves of all the gains the young people would bring to this country! 

Let us not wound  the young people when they are only half way in their journey into life! Give them a helping hand to thrive and flourish!

The more we treat the younger people regardfully the more they would reciprocate with responsibility and altruism !

The governance of a nation becomes admirable and people centric, when those in leadership responds to adversity with understanding, prudence and foresight by engaging! 

I post the above photo from our garden of a cashew tree thriving to bear fruits shortly. I wish the Prime Minister of india will see the youth of India as those who are rooted in the soil of India and flourishing to live their lives aspirationally and altruistically! Listen to them if they have a question or dissent or a protest! That is the inclusive approach knowing that about this young people who form about thirty five percent of population of India shall decide the developmental destiny of this country, when others would have moved on!

To all the daily visitors to this blog site each day, about 32,000 from about 30 countries, let me request you to bear the nation of India and its people in your silent prayer for peace, justice, and equity! Let the people of India live as neighbours to each other! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

 

A hospitable garden!

 

The above collection of butterflies in our garden of the recent weeks brings an awareness about the breeding time of Butterflies in Kerala, when the monsoon season is spread over from June to October. I remember seeing more than these species above in the garden, who could not be photographed. 

I looked around in the green flowering hedge bushes where they normally breed for pupa and cocoon. I could not spot them. Normally these bushes would have been eaten away by the scores of pupa during this season. 

So I wondered if the above butterflies are migrating visitors to the garden, as this season is a time for such migration in this region! 

The resting phase the butterflies practice is for thermoregulation in the warmth of the sun as they are cold blooded. They sit on leaves in sunlight to make their wing muscles warm enough to fly. They use sensors in their feet to taste the leaves to decide if the eggs they lay would survive to become pupa. The rest and quiescence they receive by staying still on the leaves help them to conserve energy for flight movements. 

The butterflies feed on nectar often found in flowers. During this process they pollinate the flowers as well. 

They receive and give ! 

They receive to give! 

The message that the garden announces is its habit of giving! 

When I noticed a White-rummped Munia feeding on  millets of grass in the garden, I was further moved to feel the way life is sustained by a hospitable garden! This is the inter-dependent way of living! 

I happened to watch how the police was physically hurtful while restraining protestors in Delhi yesterday. The protesters were dragged, pushed and held forcefully denying all that is honourable to human dignity! The government that engages the police to do this consists of people who fail to feel! I was so disturbed that I needed comfort and consolation. 

The pictures of the butterflies and the way the garden offered hospitality to them, brought hope! The rude act of the police is an aberration. The normal and honourable way is to live interdependently and hospitality! 

All protests represent an urge for change and an aspiration for better days! One can contest a protest by dialogue and exchange of thoughts! Resorting to oppressive practices speak poorly of the attitude of those in government who are chosen democratically to offer welfare to all to co-exist and co-serve. 

Butterflies thrive in a hospitable garden. People grow up to be benevolent and altruistic in a society when people chosen to govern them show the way of hospitality and accommodate dissent and protest! 

A nation is a cradle for human wellness ! 

The thriving butterflies announce that they are what they are because of a garden! 

The people of a nation thrive and flourish when they are offered hospitality, even in provocative situations! 

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

The unfolding of life!

 

The rose bush is the youngest of the plants in our garden and the desert rose is the oldest with history of fourteen years. Each plant survives seasons and changes to bear flowers. 

This reminded me of the fourteen years since Anna and I moved to our cottage from the campus of the Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences to live in our cottage 14 years ago, 

I recalled the seasons and changes in our lives during this period. Since we live in a property with different vegetations and fruit bearing trees, we were drawn to appreciate the rhythm of plant life. We got used to the different temperaments of Daphne, who being a Beagle was scent driven and explorative. So she needed a kennel with an enclosed yard for her independence. Dulcie being a Shih Tzu  preferred to be indoor, following us to remain close to us through the day. She would not be comfortable during lighting and thunder or heavy rain unless she is resting in Anna's lap.  

Anna planted saplings of flowering trees to remember our children and grand children, all of which now flower. The aviary and the aquarium are other interests that Anna cultivated during our time here. 

Since we retired from the Christian Medical College in Vellore in 2010 and PIMS in 2012, we lost the close touch with the foster family of medical students. Our time in MOSC, Kolenchery for 11 years gave us another opportunity to build some relationship with students. During the COVID season, for about five years we had a weekly online Friday Forum for reflection and conversation on Life, Living and Learning. Another professional forum of weekly meeting emerged concurrently for promoting discussion on child development and rehabilitation which continues even now, after a short interruption at the time of our retirement. 

The publication of five books in the last four years gave us inspiration to continue writing and we pursue that as one major exercise during this phase of our lives. 

Our journey took a new direction following the home call of our daughter in her infancy, forty five years ago. That was a turning point  in our journey personally and professionally! Anita Susan blessed us with her presence and left us with a message to pursue a vocation in our lives. Anna and I pursued to live our lives aligning with the message she led us into! 

When a lady of forty ears whom we welcomed to Child Development Centre at Chennai when she was two years old, with a metabolic disease, celebrated her fortieth birthday recently. The family and the lady invited us to join with the recollections of their journey! She would send us greetings a few times in a year and her parents would enquire of our wellness periodically! Theirs is a gift of love and regards, which bring refreshing memories of our professional involvements. 

Another family who came to meet us with their three months old son who suffered cerebral haemorrhage and hemiparesis, now ten years old, was blessed with a second child recently. The family, having been in touch with us regularly and their older son now being able to adjust well at school following progressive recovery, keep sending  messages of encouragement and friendship. 

Amidst these happy memories, we also carry memories of sadness. We  suffered the stress and strain of broken relationships at our work place with people who were close to us for three decades. Our attempt to reconcile helped only in a limited way.

A retired professor  sent me a photo yesterday of his visit to our home three years ago. He remembered Anna and me and said, ' Thank you for the friendship'. Another friend now visiting her friends in Oxford with her children sent photos yesterday of her visits. 

A neighbour whom we were supporting to recover from his alcohol dependence has been dry following de-addiction treatment and therapy for eight weeks now. Another reason to be grateful for!

The recollection of joys and strains of friendships brought mixed emotions yesterday!  

The flowers in our garden took me to many such memories of our journey thus far !

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

 

The greetings from the garden!

 

When I returned after having been away for a week, the morning sights in the garden brought a refreshing experience! Each flower had a story of its own! The gestational period for blooming is weeks or months for these flowers. The plants give flowers and fruits by habit! 

The flowers and bloom and fade away! During their blooming presence they are a home for insects cats, bees and butterflies !

The pump which draws water for our cottage to an overhead tank from the well failed two days ago. I called the mechanic around 7 pm. He offered to come in the morning around 9.30 am. He arrived next morning at 6 am ! He said, 'He decided to come early in case there was no water in the overhead tank in the morning'!. He travelled three kilometres to come early in the morning. That became an example of thoughtful presence! He transcended his inconvenience to help! 

During the day, my thoughts lingered around this gift of thoughtful presence! 

In the on line Thursday clinical forum, the discussion was about a per-school child who is struggling to develop his language skills. This child lives in a rural area and his parents are daily wage earners. A question was raised by a professional, 'How can we help him when travelling a long distance to come to the child development centre would deny the family the daily wages ?'. I heard it as a an expression of thoughtful presence to help a family. It was a spontaneous response to an unspoken need!

The flowers bloom to give themselves as a gift of fragrant presence and  nectar giving!

I heard from a friend in Sydney yesterday, that maternity hospitals offer double bed when a woman is admitted for child birth. That gives the opportunity for the husband and wife to be together even doing child birth to affirm and practice co-parenting as the way from childbirth! A gift of thoughtful presence to the newborn and towards endearing relationship between the husband and wife! 

There are myriad of ways, one can meditate and reflect on the presence of flowers in the garden! Today it led me to meditate on thoughtful presence!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

 

The story of development and displacement !

The vast acres of paddy fields just outside a town in Bihar, tell a story of the agrarian life style that dominates. But the changes are visible with new constructions of houses and commercial complexes. 

In a conversation with the residents, I sensed that the land area for agricultural purposes would reduce gradually as construction of buildings would be needed to accommodate new business initiatives based on mushrooming industry initiatives. 

The migration of people from rural areas to towns and cities would also increase as young people having been better educated than what it was 25 years ago, would need jobs corresponding to their educational status.  

In the village where Anna and I live and villages next to us have land areas, who used to be rice fields, remain uncultivated for several years as farm workers are rare to find. The labourers have disappeared, as there is no such class in the recent years where educational opportunities offered opportunities for young people to find well- paying jobs.

Any form of farming is labour intensive unless it is fully mechanised.  

The human interface is missing as the class of daily wage earning labourers  are scarce to fond! 

During this social change, one issue that surfaces for attention is the clusters of senior citizens who live alone in their homes, often not well cared for! 

It is estimated that this number of those who are beyond sixty five years would soon outnumber the younger people as each family has only one or two children by choice! 

This is an existential crisis. The farming which was the source of food and income is disappearing. People are older and unable to work in their farms. The younger members of a home are elsewhere. employed and settled. 

This is a crisis at our door step. Fortunately, the recently elected state government of Keralam started a new department to attend to the welfare of senior citizens! That is a ray of hope! 

The fourth photo above is a photo which represents the social transition taking place in rural areas. 

I came across many initiatives locally which are 'Good Samaritan' projects to respond to the needs of those who live alone in needy situations! 

I suspect the scene in the first photo will soon be replaced by the scene in the fourth photo! It represents development as well as displacement! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

 

The given earth and its fruits!

I noticed the Mynah birds arriving one after another to forage in the lawn in front of our cottage. They find their feed in the grass! 

This sight brought an awareness about the giving earth ! The earth feeds its inhabitants. Tis consciousness brought a regardful view of what we receive from the earth. 

The bird calls from early in the morning from all around the garden awaken us to a consciousness of this cycle of life on earth. The giving earth sustains life on earth! 

A butterfly sting on the Rambutan tree in the garden close to the lawn above, brought another consciousness about life! The butterflies are born, fed and sustained by plant life! 

When I noticed the rainbow from our garden yesterday, I was even more awakened to sense how the earth receives its rainfall seasonally to sustain life on earth.  

A passage from the book of Psalms in the Bible (24:1-2) came to my mind while experiencing these sights in front of me: "The earth is the Lord's and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it. For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers".

We "who dwell in the shelter of the most high will abide in the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1), is an affirming and uplifting promise ! 

For me, this experience was an occasion akin to an epiphany! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

 

The wellness quotient!

This sixty-six years old wall clock in our drawing room, needs mechanical winding every week. Anna and I were away for ten days and on return I found that the clock had stopped. After rewinding, I noticed the clock returning to its regular rhythm of movement every minute and chiming every half an hour. 

What keeps the movements of the pendulum and the hour and minute hands to show the time, is dependent on the rewinding of two springs, one for the dial and the other for the chyme, each week. The pendulum moves 72 times each minute on both directions horizontally.  

The clock functions when it is wound every week! It keeps time and chymes for the benefit of others! The clock symbolises receiving and giving.

I watched a cyclist giving a ride to his friend on its back on a busy street. I noticed him stopping when the vehicles were approaching from both sides. He was protective and cautious. He navigated the cycle circumspectly and thoughtfully! He turned a bicycle into a mode of transport of him and his friend! The cycle looked strong enough and well kept to carry two people! The cyclist trusted his bicycle to offer a ride to his friend! He knew his cycle and its roadworthiness. 

The clock and cycle above functioned normally because they were regularly attended to for them to be able to function optimally!  

When I started the car yesterday after ten days, the pressure gauge in the instrument cluster on the dash board warned me of low air pressure in all the tyres. The car needed attention for it to remain safe for a drive. 

It was while watching the interview of two lady doctors, working in north India,  one a surgeon and another a community physician, I was moved by a sense of mission they carry, to take care of the poor in the rural communities. They spoke about 'keeping the people well to work and earn their livelihood'! Their emphasis and resolve to do their little to support people to be well to live and work resonated within me. 

Following an epidemic of Measles in 1977 in and around Sevagram, when some young children died and many were admitted with complications in the hospital, Dr Sushila Nayyar, the director asked me a question, ' What if you trained  in Paediatrics to help children'?  It was that question which led me start training in Paediatrics in 1978. It was during that training, I came across Prof A.M.Sur conducting a weekly clinic for children with Neuro-developmental needs in the Occupational therapy department of the hospital. His remark, 'children suffer silently and parents are helpless' had a profound impact on me. This remark resounded within me during forty years of my involvement with Neuro-developmentally challenged children and their parents. 

It was Anna who proposed in 1983 that we state our intent as 'Taking sides' when the Child Development Centre was established at Chennai. 

We keep all the equipment we use in daily life well and trim. 

However, paying attention to our body to remain well to experience fullness of life, is still to become a reality for most people! 

In the village where I live, the two new places that people now visit are an exercise parlour and a bar. The people who visit the bar outnumber those who visit the exercise parlour. 

This is the reality- our choices determine our destination !

The co-pilot who assaulted the pilot in the FlyDubai flight last week, chose intentionally to do harm ! 

The goodness within each of us offers wellness for ourselves and others! This goodness within us needs nurture to grow to bear fruits! 

That is one reason, why, the war initiated by Russia or the USA or Israel offers no restoration of goodness. 

The Pope Leo, in his recent prayer referred to peace as a gift of God and fruit of love for neighbours! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)