The fraternal sense !

 

During the mid day yesterday, when the the clouds cleared for a while, a pair of Bulbuls arrived at the feeding station and were engaged in their routines. I noticed an unusual attentiveness and focussed attention  which made me look in the direction of their focus. 

A Sunbird was perched in the branch of the Rambutan tree which was spreading out towards the feeding station. The stillness and interest with which the Bulbuls watched the Sunbird and the alertness with which the Sunbird exchanged greetings was a fascinating sight for me. 

The avian world is a communicating world. 

I sometimes wonder if humans exist in a hostile world, where heart level communications do not seem to be a norm. 

The IRAN-ISRAEL-MIDDLE EAST-USA tensions do not seem to settle down. I suspect that the compulsive behaviour of Israel and the USA to dominate and subdue nations that do not fall in line with their territorial aspirations, get attacked and damaged! Whom does the war benefit? 

I wish the current crisis does nor escalate further. 

It is the fifth time the petrol price has gone up in the last one year in India. An economist suggested that we are encountering only the tip of the iceberg of economic distress that we shall soon face! 

How refreshing and comforting it was to watch the Bulbuls and the Sunbird reach out to each other in silent communication! They honour each other with behavioural sanity!

The king Charles during his recent visit to the USA pointed out in a humorous way how peace and harmony are the normal human aspirations! That message awakened the conscience of many, but did not make a difference in the attitude of leaders of that nation!

As I listen to the bird calls in the garden, while writing this, I feel encouraged by the message of goodwill they bring each day to us! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

The hidden presence!

The spiders normally present in the flowers and buds seemed to have moved away to safe places, during the incessant rain of the last three days. I looked for them in the flowers after a heavy down pour. 

There was a spider each,  in the last two flowers above. Both of them were hidden beneath the flowers. They found their hiding place. 

There is a way of being present and yet hidden!

I felt this way of presence as something unusual. 

Anna and I visited a friend yesterday, whose husband had a traumatic brain injury in a road side accident and is now quadriplegic. The last two years have been a harrowing time for her. Listening to her we got a faint sense of the daily demands on her in taking care of her husband and adjusting to the special situations each day. In her conversation, in spite of the trying experiences, sometimes more than what she could endure, she was forthcoming with her fortitude and endurance. As a family before her husband's accident, they were in public life offering leadership in their professional roles. Now they live hidden, alone and confined to their home. 

The spirit of resilience, hope and openness to adapt to the difficult situation seemed evident in her attitude. I felt that she was a witness to the reality of receiving multiplied grace while in multiplied distress. 

It was raining heavily while driving back home in the dark, with no street lights. 

Sometimes we encounter the experience of having to stay hidden under disturbing circumstances. That is difficult and demanding. 

The spiders can look forward to sunny days and dry season for them to return to their normal habitat. They do not have to be live hidden and sheltered all the time. 

But there are those who live lonely and hidden because of stressful and enforced situations. 

How much I am aware of such people in my neighbourhood! This is what dawned upon me at the end of the day! 

A common feature ever since the nuclear family system has evolved is that a family with special needs often lives alone in isolation. They live hidden and remain hidden to rest of us because we live our preoccupied with ourselves!

The spiders and a family,  having to remain hidden in difficult circumstances, sent me a message of awareness about living more mindfully ! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)