After three days of sunshine, the butterflies wee back at the flowers in our garden. I was not able to capture the images of those who were flying around in the air moving between flowers !
They have the skill to be still while not gathering nectar! That stillness escapes our attention ! It is their fluttering movements which announce of their presence.
The still presence is part of their rhythm!
The still presence is the opposite of a straining presence!
Jesus of Nazareth referred to straining presence in His Sermon on the mount : "... Do not be anxious for your life....Look at the birds of the air, that hey do not sow, neither do they reap or gather into barns and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than that ?" (Matthew 6: 25-26).
It is during the last week of incessant rain, I noticed the truth of this saying of Jesus even more vividly.
The Mynah birds came to the feeding station in our garden in between the rain spell and emptied the bowls of food. They looked ready for more! Theirs was not at all a straining presence as much as I could make out from the body language!
In fact what Anna and I experience from the birds is the singing presence. Some of the birds visit us regularly.
The Bulbuls perch in the nutmeg tree opposite our front door and sing the morning chorus. The Mag pie Robins come even closer by perching in the electric cable and sing till they notice us in their vicinity!
Thanks to the Butterflies visiting our garden today morning! They introduced the theme of still presence. The Birds brought the message of singing presence. I sensed that what we needed was this message. In fact these birds do not stop singing when it threatens to rain. It is their morning and evening ritual!
I felt that they educate Anna and me about grateful presence in response to what we have been blessed with in our mid seventies. Anna had a visit this week of a contemporary at Medical college, who keeps in touch regularly. This time she and her husband spent a morning with us in our home, which brought many memories of people who blessed us with their grateful presence inner lives.
Yes, Still presence, singing presence and grateful presence become the calling for us ! The still presence leads us to God consciousness; the singing presence reminds us of the mindful way of living and the grateful presence creates an inward ambience of humility!
M.C.Mathew (text and photo)
