The leaning presence !

The Lilies are in blossoms now in our garden!

I noticed only a few of them with straight stems to bear the blossoms. Most of them were leaning to one side. I felt surprised to notice that the leaning of all of them while in a cluster, was in one direction. That made me observe them  further. The plants which were in the shade of foliage of trees above  were leaning towards the light ! 

The light draws the flowers to move out of the shadow! 

The individuation theory of Carl Young, suggests that we live with our Self and Shadow. The shadow represents the dark side of our lives- hurts, disappointments, losses, anger, exalted view of ourselves, the ugly side of our lives that we hide....! Most of us, as we move into mid-life learn to integrate these shadows by accepting them and integrating them to view them as truly part of ourselves to make our Self truly human. We no more reject or strive to hide the dark side of our lives. By welcoming and owning them, we accept them to be part of ourselves and yet  travel beyond those valleys to behold and actualise the person that we are becoming in the journey of discovering our true self. Our self, which often appears to us in our subconscious and conscious mind as shadows and sorrows,  become the ground which holds us to grow further into the fullness of life that we are gifted with. 

When we consciously welcome the seed of goodness within us, we find our insights about ourselves changing to be appreciative and affirmative of ourselves. This consciousness of 'a treasure within an earthen vessel' is the true discovery of Self, which leads us further to becoming the person that we are endowed to be. 

It was the sunlight that drew the Lilies to lean towards the light, and to move out of the shadow of the foliage of the trees above! The radiance and fluoresce in the flowers came from the sunlight ! 

We can carry to live in the shadow of our broken or burdensome past or move towards the light that calls us to have our past revised and integrated into to becoming a new person, by receiving the light to integrate our past, present and the future. 

Mr Azim Premji, the founder of Wipro was rich with 11.6 billion dollar worth assets in 2023. In 2013, he signed the giving pledge committing to give away at least half of his wealth. He started this giving by creating Azim Premji Foundation, with a donation of 2.2 billion dollars to improve educational and medical facilities in rural India. When I visited a rural mission hospital in India recently, the hospital was working on a proposal to start a school for the children in the villages, with  an offer of support from  the Azim Premji Foundation.  Some of the rural hospitals that I know received generous support during the COVID season from this foundation which helped them to create intensive care facilities to look after sick patients. 

A doctor who works closely with Azim Premji foundation, told me that Mr Premji lives a simple life with least attachment to material wealth. He discovered giving as a way of living by being drawn by the light that transformed his view of wealth. That is the Light of transformation ! Making wealth for indulgent and opulent living is an expression of being besieged by the shadow of aspirations and exalted view of ourselves.  We still live as prisoners of our smallness of interests or inclinations, when wealth acquisition is the motive and lavish display of it is our ambition. 

How much I lean towards the Light that calls me to be on a transformative journey ! The Light leads me out of my shadows that preoccupy me and offers me the freedom to live graciously and mindfully serving others! 

The Leaning Lilies in our garden shall remind me of the Light that calls me to move towards the Self that I am- Given to give ! 

What a life we are called to live - revising life through the insights we receive from the Light that shines within us !

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)