When it rains...!

 

The visiting birds come to our garden to feed from the feeding table normally!

It was raining at day break today! 

Two Bulbuls one after the other visited the bird feeder to feed! Although we place feed in the bird feeder we clear the feed in the evening as birds would not have not needed it as the feeding table was a better palace to come to socialise with other birds. 

Our habits emerge  out of our situations and needs. 

I struggle with this experience. My expectations and what I receive when do not match, I am drawn to the valley of disappointment. I pondered over it recently. 

The Bulbuls changed their behaviour to feed from the bird feeder and accept it as normal for the day. 

I feel challenged by this message! What is offered or given is good enough and receive it cheerfully, rather than downsize the goodwill as it did not match my expectations!

I view this as a caution in all forms of engagements! To free others from a load of expectations and stay content with what is offered or  not offered! 

Life is a journey of living well from within, in an ambience of receiving others just as they are !

Our expectations are projections to make others feel burdened! It vitiate relationships !

One needs inner freedom and generosity to be people friendly out of on'es own good will and not restrained by what is given or not given!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Going beyond the first impression!

I watched a a look of suspicion in the posture of a Barbet, when seeing a jungle Babbler at the feeding bowl. Soon that inhibition or anxiety was overcome and both birds were feeding together from the bowl. 

I felt fascinated by the friendly posture of the Barbet after the initial look of anxiety!

The Barbet travelled beyond the first impression to restore a friendly orientation. 

I suspect that when first impressions when not revised the relationships cannot develop to be reciprocal.

I remember instances when I took time to go beyond the first impressions because of which the relationship dragged on without trustful communicative atmosphere. 

We form impressions in our mind based on our rational thinking. To be able to move into the plane of loving or caring is beyond rationality. Loving is giving and forgiving. It goes well beyond the thoughts of our mind which functions at the level of logic and reason. 

The heart level impressions reflect loving gestures and responses. The Truth and Reconciliation commission which Archbishop Desmond Tutu chaired in South Africa in the nineteen eighties is a good demonstration of how the Afrikaans and the white community overcame age old intolerance and racial prejudice and became reconciled to live and work together ! They took years to overcome the first impression of each other and move to a heart level response of acceptance of each other. 

As I listen to stories of disputes and conflicts I realise how quickly people resolve them, when they are ready to move beyond the first impressions and feel for each other!

Even after peace treaty in Gaza the killing continues. The language of intolerance is yet to be overcome with a desire for coherence and peace. 

What a delight it was to watch a Barbet revising its initial fear or anxiety and moving towards having a shared meal at the feeding table! 

I wish a heart level move towards each other takes place, in families, work places and society! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

 

Towards Wellbeing !

The water bath in the garden in front of our cottage was not a favourite pale for birds for some unknown reason. Yesterday, I watched a Myna frolicking in water in the water bath. 

It waited for a while perched in the water bath before it began its rituals. There were other birds in the feeding table. The Myna waited till other birds flew away to make the bathing private. It flew away beyond my sight to dry itself. The way it used its wings to splash water all over the body was a sight to watch! 

Among the birds visiting us the Sunbird and Myna have an immaculately groomed body all the time. The sunbirds fly fast and Myna fly high to perch at the tall trees. The Myna bird has a bulkier body. The birds therefore behave conditioned by their needs. They are aware of the needs. 

The attention birds give to their physical wellness is worth watching and emulating. 

In the book, Wellbeing-five essential elements by Tom Rath and Jim Harter, the authors explore the themes of Career wellbeing, Social wellbeing, Financial wellbeing, Physical wellbeing and Community wellbeing. The book is a resource of practical wisdom. The strong suggestion in the pages of the book is for humans to be aware of their needs, towards experiencing wellbeing. 

The suggestion that about thirty percent in some societies can be obese as against four percent in some other societies substantiate their argument that wellbeing is a vocation many overlook while some  pursue it religiously.  

The focus on mindful living not just for longevity in life but for quality of life, is well presented in their arguments. About sixty four percent of those who go bankrupt in the USA is due to health care expenditure. 

The wellbeing is therefore is not an option but is the call of life and living according to the authors. The indulgent eating and indifference to movements and exercise seem to be a major factor which compromise  wellbeing. 

The birds move and fly and stay healthy. They eat to live well. 

Let me quote from page 4 of the book: 'Wellbeing is about combination of our love for what we do each day, the quality of retionshiops, the security of our finance, the vibrancy of our physical  health, and the pride we take in what we have contributed to our communities. Most importantly, it's about how these five elements interact'.

 

It is now thirteen years since Anna and I have had an opportunity to have visiting birds in our garden ! They bring messages for us to ponder upon!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

Being at the edge!

The last photo above gives an impression of the skilful way a Myna balances on one foot while perched on an edge! The inclined body and the flexed neck downward are sustained in one foot!

It is a precarious position, but the Myna manages well with no threat to its steady posture or composure.

I felt myself in a precarious situation yesterday, while taking out the car from a parking slot. It was raining and the rear view was limited. Another car was wrongly parked and the only access was to reverse the car with only few inches of space on either side of the car. It took a while to negotiate that narrow access. To get into the car itself was difficult as the space to open the door was limited. During the process of folding the umbrella while getting into the car, I dropped the ATM card in the car. It took a while to find that. It was a combination of multiple events leading to an unsettling experience. 

I recalled this experience, while watching the Myna balancing well with the support of one foot at the edge of the feeding table. 

Its composure and steady body posture gave me an insight about the readiness it carried by practice to negotiate a difficult position!

While driving back home, I recalled the time at the bank where the officer went out of her way to help to sort out couple of pending matters. I felt attended to in a cordial manner. The wellness and comfort that generated was the inner milieu with which I came to the car to drive away. The prevailing inner milieu of wellness and comfort at the bank, eased the stress and carried me forward to negotiate a difficult experience while taking out the car. 

The passage to our home in the last stretch of about 100 meters is a single lane and if a vehicle were to come from the opposite side, one of us has to reverse to find a broad space to allow movement. That was what happened yesterday. The driver of the vehicle coming from the opposite side signalled to me that he would reverse his car, although it was a longer distance for him to create space for me to go.  

We are often sandwiched between comforting and disturbing experiences in life. The inner ambience of wellness that good experiences offers us, often helps us to be patient and comfortable while encountering a challenging situation. 

The state of wellness and peace is in our domain of choice! That was what occurred to me ! 

A Myna faces precarious situations with equanimity!

The experiences yesterday offered lessons in that direction!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

 

The giving and receiving garden!

The garden around our cottage springs surprises all the time. 

The first two photographs are of two mango trees which were seven years old which got damaged in lightning. Their stems needed to be pruned from the bottom. Now both have vibrant shoots. They were saplings planted by two friends Sanjeeth Peter and Thomas ram in our garden. Both of them visited us two days ago and felt delighted by the new life in spite of the lightning effect on the trees!

The seasons of Jackfruit is March to June. But one Jackfruit tree has fruits which would ripen by the time winter sets in. That is unusual. 

The flowers on a tender Pineapple brought a surprise sight to watch!

A coconut tree, five years old, which was thriving, looked dying following the damage caused by pests. 

The garden bears life in its soil and receives back the dying plant to itself.  

The ever giving and receiving soil of the garden !

It is a metaphor of the giving and receiving God !

This brings a sense of reverence about life itself! 

Life is lived to bear fruits !

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

The avian language of peace!

 

These Myna birds perched at day break on a tall tree in our garden flew towards the Feeding station in our courtyard ! They fed by taking turns. 

Before the birds resident at night in our garden fly away, to other flight stations, they come to the feeding station to socialise with other birds and feed.

While watching this delightful sight, I noticed a Leaf bird in an adjacent tree feeding on a dragon fly it caught !

These sights of bird behaviour bring a sobering mood when we live in turbulent times and disturbing events around us! 

The sights of armed soldiers of Hamas in the Gaza streets two days after the successful peace negotiations bring an unsettling feeling!

The ease and freedom with which birds move around, call us to live with a sense of social harmony. We live in a shared space regardful and respectful of each other! 

I am grateful that these avian visitors in our garden bring messages to ponder upon!

They have a peaceful orientation !

M.C.Mathew ( text and photo)

Flowers at day break!

A walk in the garden around our cottage at day break brings an enchanting experience as the colours offer a visual feast. It brings an invitation to look forward to the day !

I saw a few photos now of the devastated Gaza with no green belt in sight in those photos. 

The photos of return of about five lakhs of Palestinians to their homeland bring a sorrowful look. For months they would live in temporary shelters enduring hardships, sense of loss and grief!

One of the returnees said to a press reporter, that ' the aspiration to live in their home has kept them hopeful for two years'. 

I hope that each family will have a home in their homeland ! Let it be   a permanent reality!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)