Two and One !

Two are better and one is Special!

The Gerbera daisy flowers in our garden are usually in single and the rose flowers are in multiples in the stem. Here it is the opposite. So to see both of them with a difference from the usual was a special sight. 

There is something or the other that calls for celebration !

M.C.Mathew (text and photo) 

A time for everything!

There about fifty nutmeg trees in our garden. 

One sight I look forward to during the pre-monsoon season is to watch the shell of the nutmeg fruit split into two, while still hanging in the tree, to expose the maize which conceals the seed within it. 

When this happens, it is the time to pluck the fruit unless it has already fallen off from the twig to which it is attached.   

The farmers who have long years of experience with nutmeg plantations tell me that this vertical splitting of the shell is a well timed function of the tree. The seed splits when the maize is ready to be separated from the seed inside, as the maize is normally adherent to the seed. The value and price of the maize drops if the maize looses its 'flower appearance' or is discontinuous or vertically broken while separating the maize from the seed. 

 So this function is precise and timed, which the tree performs for all its fruits.  

Ther are many things in life which can only be done only during a particular time span. If I fail to reach the check in counter in the air pot forty five minutes before the departure time of the flight, I am likely to miss the flight. 

The window to do many things in life is pre-set!

An assistant professor working in  medical college is given three years time to publish two articles before he or she can be promoted. It is necessary to keep that schedule to be considered eligible for promotion. 

Most of us have an intuitive sense because of which we choose to do somethings at a particular time, even if it looks does not so rational, which while looking back seems to have made all the difference in life. 

Anna and I were invited for a month long retreat in 1983. We responded to it although a month away from our work was a difficult thought. It was during that retreat, we were introduced to the practice of  interior silence and meditation of the scripture in silence. Both Anna and I were driven people and activists with a passion. It is thirty five years since then. Inspite of the nature of work which involved listening to grieving and hurting people, we feel comforted and anchored most of the times, because of a new rhythm of living we were introduced to at that time. The emphasis was on learning and living by revising rhythms in life. The new rhythm of silence and solitude for meditation and prayer which was introduced to us became a soul refreshing experience for us. It is spirituality of this nature which keeps us going because we receive insights about our lives through the discerning experience made possible through the rhythm of silence and meditation. 

Our lives were displaced from our natural rhythm to a new rhythm and orientation, at a time when we too were ready to revise some ways and practices in our lives.. 

Not that we live our lives soberly and contently always, but we have an inner urge to live meditatively and reflectively and return to spiritual exercises which facilitate this!

The nutmeg fruit opens itself to give away the maize and seed. This is a metaphor of 'becoming open' or 'being open' to have our interior open towards God! What is within us is an offering to God. Our lives become a means to be a blessing to others when this happens. What is in life if our interior is not open towards God!  

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

  

A stone tells its story!

This is a granite stone found in the pile of stones unloaded by a truck for building our broken wall. The stones were brought  from a quarry three kilometres away.

What intrigued me was the hole in one stone. It was hole created by a machine to load it with the dynamite to break the mass of stone upon a hill! When the wick was finally lighted, the combustion pressure would have splintered and scattered the stones!

This stone bears the mark of its story!

It is now a stone in the wall that is built!

It was displaced from its place where it existed for a long time!

From being a part of a mass of stone on a hill, it is now a piece in a wall! 

It represents a history of years its formation, presence on the hill to form the hill and now it continues its new role giving form and strength to a wall!

It is an anonymous stone. It has no name, or identity of its own! Its function is its identity!

All of us have a story of our heritage, belonging, and becoming. And yet there is an anonymity about most of us. 

Who we are and what we do, help to make the whole!

Every time I come the the department to work, I am reminded of ten others in the department who make the place a welcoming place! Each of them together makes the department!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

What do we see!

All of us would see the mangoes in a tree! But only some take time to go near the mango fruit and take delight in the design in the skin of the fruit!

Since I noticed that there are different designs on the surface of the mango fruit with are species specific, it has been fascinating to look at them and take pictures of these delicate designs. 

During this season of the sale of mangoes in the market, I have also begun to smell them to become familiar with the smell to guess the flavour of the fruit! That is another journey altogether!

We can pass by the events in our lives and stay oblivious of the meaning and purpose of different life experiences or go deeper inward to get a sense of the fullness of meaning of life events. 

Life is large than the macro-view we often tend to live with. Life is a tapestry with strands of richness and meaning! There are times when life calls for lamentations and recovery and there are other times when it is celebration for joyful living!

Life offers a richness, which is what makes a mystery to  behold  in awe and wonder!  

Daffodil family!

It is the first time that I have noticed that the daffodils have a wide range of colours and designs! Daffodils adorn the meadows in the spring season. I learned Wordsworth's poetry on Daffodils at school. To see the Daffodils one more time filled me with nostalgia!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Birds that catch your attention!

There is an unusual artistic blend of colours, texture and elegance in most birds. 

I like watching them because, they are of all beings the most free, with no restriction  on space and boundary! They cross geographical borders of many countries when they come from Siberia to Kochi  during the winter months. They are messengers of goodwill. 

They tell humanity that we are all one! It is a message of hope when at least two million people are scattered in Europe as refugees, a quarter of them children, living in temporary accommodation ! 

Life is to be a celebration of our human togetherness and shared living!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

A tubular vision!

It is good to do a audit of how we view ourselves, others and our circumstances if possible at least once a week!

It is easy to get carried away by what we want to see and allow everything else to stay blurred! That is an unfortunate state of orientation!

Choose to see the details of life with an open perspective, where everything within ourselves and around us stay visible to our perception! The whole is larger than where we tend to focus!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo) 

At he opportune time..!

This is the last rose bush, 11th in its order in our garden. All the ten rose bushes blossomed from November! But this plant remained stubborn without any buds or flowers. 

However it has suddenly shown a new life in the last ten days with fresh leaves and several buds!

For me its presence in the garden is special. It is smaller than other bushes and is at the end of the row of rose bushes and did not grow as well as other plants right from the start. It was also too close to the wall and perhaps did not have good soil for its growth.

About five months back when the plants were pruned and manured, this bush received  special attention. 

I counted twenty five buds and more are expected with tender leaves still sprouting!

I have gone through a difficult season in my life in the last year or so on account of some decisions, I was part of during my involvement with an organisation. I felt accused and attacked. Friends deserted....there was anger and hate expressed...

By November, I knew I had to redeem myself and find my anchor in the larger purpose of life.

Since the rose bushes began blossoming, I took time every morning on the days I was at home, to spend time to look at the buds and flowers. I took their phots and viewed them leisurely! As I did this for the last four months, I realised that there were hundreds of flowers during this season, unlike anything like in the last five years since we started living in this cottage! It seems to me that these flowers were messengers given to me with a message!

Pay attention to LIFE, LIVNG AND LEARNING! All the other things are external. The external need to stay external and what is internal alone is life-giving! 

It was a great relief to write to over sixty friends to send a message of friendship! Although the response is yet to come, I feel inwardly awakened to move forward... it involves being patient with those who are still disharmonious in attitude!

That is the message I received from the rose bush, the photo of which is above...nurture relationship and stay patient!

The messengers and messages come to us at opportune times! 

M.C.Mathew (photo and text)

  

Something more!

There is something more in the cluster of rose buds! It is a web! The web makes this photo even more special!

The university practical examination is currently going on. Two batches of students have gone through this!

Anna tis one of the examiners in her subject. She has had students who became tearful and found the viva difficult! But she was patient and thoughtful towards them! I heard one of the students mention that some examiners made them at ease even when they could not answer the initial questions!

There is always something more we can offer in every situation. It is that 'second mile journey' or thoughtfulness we express which bring comfort and wellness. It is in the cingular gyrus of the brain, the emotion of compassion is located! There are evidences to suggest that we can cultivate compassion or suppress it! 

Having been in a specialty of clinical service, where I come across  parents in distress, I pondered  over this matter yesterday, after meeting a family with their 15 years old son suffering from a rare disease, which has no curative treatment! 

I reflected on my seventy minutes meeting with them! How have they returned home at the end of the conversation!

Do I offere something more in my engagement with others!

MC.Mathew(text and photo)

Same flower, but different colours for seeds!

There are exceptions in nature. As I walk in our garden, I discover more of these exceptions. some seeds of the same flower have different colours !

I used this picture to engage a family who have been preoccupied with the thought of 'sameness' for their three children.  They narrated the differences between them that it occurred to me as their uniqueness. 

I was associated with an organisation not so long ago, where the differences between the leaders because of their style of functioning caused disruption in purpose, responsibility and direction for the organisation! I was not able to reconcile the situation because the opinions were strong. 

The sight of these differently coloured seeds received me to a certain extent the heaviness I still carry with me on account of what happened in that organisation!  

The truth of our differences need to dawn on us, when we work others! It is good to bring the differences into the open and turn them into subjects of dialogue to find the strength in the differences  for the good of the organisation. I feel, that the exceptions call for a broad a margin of consideration for inclusiveness of all ideas, thoughts, behaviour, etc. if they are within the broad premise of he mission of the organisation.

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

Jasmine !

 I sit and write this blog , smelling the fragrance of the jasmine in our garden fifteen feet away! It is a pleasant experience. The small flowers bring such rich fragrance!

It is one flower which does not show any sign of weariness in the heat! Its fragrance is its gift. 

I am fascinated by its biography of gentle presence and refreshing fragrance!

It is a rich way of living!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Bird sightings!

If I remember correctly try, I have sighted forty tow birds during the last three months in our garden.

I could not take photographs of even half of them!

But the squirrels and butterflies are fewer this time. 

A friend who visited us with a wide experience in birding told us that the birds need a constancy of environment!

They become suspicious of changes! Most birds feel threatened by predators!

I am limited in understanding of the habitats of birds. 

However, one thing I observed during this season, that even the shutter sounds disturb them. But they stay in their place if we keep looking at them!

The stillness of their body is a delight to watch! In fact they cmamaflague themselves in the foliage with their stillness!

Being still is a way of living! Stillness is beyond resting! It is a way of trustfully living!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

A bird in its search for its feed!

I watched this bird waiting for a catch of fish! It locates itself in places where there is a water current where it might be easier to find its catch! Although I could not watch it catch a fish during the short time I was there I found this sight fascinating. 

This adaptation is an instinct humans and animals carry in their pursuit for survival. I feel that, in this lies the reason for a good deal of harmony in nature! This awareness would help us to be tolerant and patient and be genuinely be aware of the needs of others!

MCMathew(text and photo)

Even Dulce has her routine!

Dulce ahs a routine walking from the house to the gate couple of times when she is on her morning walk! She follows almost the same route and stands on the parapet before she woeful come into the house! She hesitates to come in if she has not had her morning share of the outdoor activity!

For most of us routines might make us stereotypical. In fact some routines are rituals which can have meaning an purpose. 

Yesterday a family spent about forty five minutes talking about the disorder in the house with the two children pulling them in different directions. One follows a routine for most of the day and the other resists any order!

Temperamentally people are different.. but once we can transcend to see different activities as chores and grow to remain present to them, then all activities, however small or apparently insignificant can bring meaning and contentment!

At the end of the conversation the mother confessed, that it is more meaningful, if we do not live under pressure! Ther are times when hurrying is needed, and there are other times when leisurely pace is equally needed!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo) 

A ball and multiple responses!

I was curious to know the thoughts behind the different body language of the players while following this ball!

I had a conversation with one of the players after the match. He mentioned to me that the response in the field is almost involuntary. There is no time to think or plan! Everything is almost at an impulsive level!

A sports psychologist, who accompanies  teams for the university level competitions mentioned to me that his role is to help the the players to develop quick thinking skills in a heavily demanding situation. His main approach is to help players to think, 'all situations can be redeemed to an advantage'. He uses the 'losing stage' in a match to bring a new level of synergy between players. 

Life is living is a series of  compelling circumstances. 

There is no winning or losing, but journey through experiences which are formative!

A friend, who recently moved on in life in her late seventy once remarked, 'life has told me that there is stillness beneath the turbulent surface of a sea'. 

This is a purposeful view of life and the all circumstance we are called to go through!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

Mirrorless camera telephoto lenses!

I have been experimenting with mirrorless camera lenses recently. I feel good with the outcome of the regular lenses particularly for indoor and portrait photographs. 

I am not sure whether the quality is anywhere near to what we can find with regular SLR telephoto lenses, when we shoot outdoor. With a 200 mm lens, this is the best I could produce without a tripod!

I sense from what I hear that mirrorless SLR cameras would replace the regular SLR in the next few years for amateur photography because the cameras and lenses are lighter and smaller.

What is fascinating to me is that the mirrorless cameras are the fifth generation innovation in camera and its outfits in the last thirty years since I got interested in photography! 

Each innovation is replaced by another upgrade of technology. 

Most things remain transient and our culture is entered around the philosophy of short time experiences.  

In a discussion with some students yesterday, one of them told me that there are more people with broken marriages, who come to hospital with psychosomatic illnesses!

That mad eye thinking....!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

The game spirit!

In  a game where teams play, there is a resistance from the opposite teams! It is this resistance which helps a team to make an effort to overcome it!

Our difficulties or circumstances are therefore creative resistances to overcome them!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

After a long wait!

I had almost given up on these two plants , which seemed to be unlike other plants, not flowering! But he gardener said, let us wait for one more season! He was proved right this season.

He did give extra attention and kept looking at them! Jesus of Nazareth told a parable of gardener offering to do something extra for a tree which had not yielded fruits!

It tells a lot about the differences we often find between people. Some need more attention than others for them to function at their level of potential.

It is a gift we can give to others in order to optimise their well being!

M.C.Mathew(text and poto)

During the mid day!

While on a holiday recently, I felt inclined to take photographs at different times of the day of this bunch of flowers. 

This picture of the mid day was captivating because the bright direct sunlight masked and distorted the colours ! When the bunch of flowers were hidden in the shadow of the adjacent tree, it had a gentle and visually appealing brilliance of its own! 

It brought home a truth that engaged my attention.

Each of us has our own unique personhood! We are often covered from the vulnerabilities of life by family, friends, mentors, etc. We need them for us to feel safe and secure when there are all kinds of pressures working on us all the time! To be exposed unprotected is a terrible experience!

It is a good practice to stay connected with others who feel for us and with us in times of stressful situations. We draw strength from others who carry us in their thoughts and convey solidarity with us in our times of need!

Above all, God is the guardian of our life!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Our view !

I was surprised to find how this fern tree presented itself differently depending upon from which side I looked at the tree- from the side of the Sun or opposite! The tree was the same, but views were decided form which angle I viewed the tree!

As I sit in meetings and listen to conversations which progress into arguments, I get a similar feeling. The differing arguments spring from the view of a person on a particular issue! Other views are also equally important for the discussion. But some in a dogmatic way overemphasise a perspective that it leads to misunderstanding or confusion! 

I too have a tendency to be biased... when one becomes conscious of it or when pointed out by someone who cares, it is necessary to step back and recompose oneself to be open to others as much as one desires for others to be open to me! 

A senior friend was in a habit of revising his opinion every time he was better informed! 

Our inner growth is conditioned by our openness... 'to do to others as we would have them to do unto us' !

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)