Displaced birds return!

After two weeks, I noticed water birds in the paddy fields. These fields were a home for these birds, but the recent flooding of the fields displaced them!

I watched them return yesterday to this marshy field, restfully feeling at home!

Anna and I wake up every morning listening to the birdsongs!

We have few love birds in our bird house. For about twenty years we have had birds as pets!

Their presence give us a sense of nearness to nature!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)  

Changing values in politics!

Seven Prime Ministers in 11 years! A new political narrative!

Is it not true that there is a lavish display of power in the tope political leadership in USA, Australia, India..!

The benchmark in politics is service to others!

Now we have a new benchmark of control and authority in the political dispensation!

I feel we are in  a distressing situation in India,  where a social, democratic republic is getting capsized by many narrow considerations to have greater control over others! It is no more politics of ideology, philosophy or values, but narration of imposition of opinion and pressure to conform!

I wish, those who value democracy as a model of political governance would argue and advocate for democratic values in society, where there is equality, fraternity and freedom!

A time to be vigilant!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

The four different wheels!

I have watched this sight on several occasions as we drive out of our gate. The four wheels leave four different pressure effects on the soil! In fact only the front right wheel alone leaves a visible mark on the ground on this occasion!

Four different wheels and four different effects!

I have been carrying this thought in my mind for a while!

Yesterday, Sally, the house keeper in the department mentioned to me that some fish died in the new aquarium! 

That was a bad news. We got a larger  aquarium in order to give more space for the fish! But for some unknown reason it did not suit them! We failed to attend to a all the requirements of the fish while we changed the aquarium! Our intention was good, but he way we went about did not suit the fish!  

That is when the sight of the four different marks of the ground of the car wheels came back to me with some clarity! What we do can have different effects- some desirable and some undesirable! 

We leave impressions of our presence through the way we listen, relate, communicate and behave!

A responsible and vicarious way of living is to be mindful of the impact of our actions or no actions on  others! We can live to upbuild lives or live selfishly !

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

Reprting on children!

I gathered these reports on children focussing on different experiences of children following the recent devastating flood, when their homes and schools have suffered damages!

I think there is an effort to appreciate the special needs of children at this time, from the reporting I have followed in four English dailies.  

The word, trauma, which is referred to here is again a frightening word! It speaks of pain, suffering, grief, and loss! Therefore it is not a casual experience for children! If the recent flood in testate of Kerala was exceptional in 100 years, it reminds us of the huge burden of stress the children are subjected to!

I watched children going to the school yesterday after the holiday season. They did not wear the uniform or carry the bag of books or did not wear their regular footwear! They have to get a new set as they were lost when their houses were flooded! 

During this season of loss which children feel, the least we can do is to help them to share their loss ...talking about them brings a link with others and create an experience of being partners together to overcome this sense of loss!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

A reading room!

We added a reading room to our department, thanks to the efforts of my colleagues. With three new professionals in the team, there is something more each day, which is refreshing!

This is the sixth year of the department...what have we become, is a question I keep asking!

My colleagues have been at work to bring a handout on 'play' for parents and professionals. I found their efforts as an expression of bringing their creative skills for the benefit of others!

It is a lso a season, when I have been preparing for enabling them to take the leadership of the department ! I feel that to be the compelling reason for my presence for a short while more!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

A pair !

It is the first time during this season, I found two dragonflies next to each other! It is about three centimetres in length and slender in appearance, therefore easy to miss them when they are in the grass! Th bluish tinge to their body gives them an attractive look!

I have a now collection of small visitors in our garden. As I revisit  their photographs, I feel enthused to make the as the object and attention of my photo expedition! They exist quietly and unless one looks for them, they remain silent and unnoticed!

It is more than a symbolic message to me! 

We humans get conditioned early in our life to occupy ourselves with what is visible and apparent. 

Bu there is more to life than what is just external or easily visible!

Yesterday, a colleague of mine read a poem to us of a 16th century poet, which was profound in meaning about the purpose of life and calling in life. In reading that to us, she was inviting us to have a glimpse of the truth and depth of her being! One can almost miss this dimension !

Our journey is as much into the chronological years in our life as into the hidden pages of our lives, where realities which leaven our lives reside!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

A plant with delicate flower!

Some things in life are meant to be delicate!

All relationships carry a delicate dimension!

We need to approach children in a delicate way to affirm them and their worth!

When people suffer stress or trauma, they recover when there is a caring attitude!

All of us carry within us a dimension of being mindful of others!

We grow in kindness and bless others with our goodwill when we have a thoughtful awareness of others and their needs!

When we speak kindly it is life giving to others!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)