Santhosh's ramblings

Behavioural patterns get pronounced as one gets older. Especially if one has a dementia or similar neurodegenerative diseases. What  the behaviours that will be pronounced is not in our control. But what potentially could is in our control today. Nurture those patterns which build your inner man, build others, build a community, and even if our faculties start deteriorating one can be sure that what is pronounced will be something which will not irritating to those who care for you. Neuronal damage was thought to be permanent, with no regeneration. Supressed non functional pathways will lead to diminishing functions but overacting other pathways enhanced expression of some functions. This happens in degenerative diseases. But recent understanding of neuronal regeneration has changed our understanding. In non degenerative diseases there has been evidence of neuronal regeneration. So, if we want to prepare for a potential life of degenerating physical and cognitive functions, I ne...

Worshipping when down.... Worship has become a 'feel good' activity where at the end of worship one needs to feel good if you want to label it as 'good'. The paradigm of worship being touching the heart of God, does not seem to be up in agenda. A casual question to a worshiper getting out of a worship service would draw the following responses - awesome, cool,  excellent, uplifting, or similar sounding words. I was recently worshipping along with an elderly person with moderate stages of Alzheimers disease. You could experience that the person was a worshipper in heart, but if you had asked her, how was the worship, she would not be able to respond because she would have forgotten the experience soon. So when you are down, how does one worship? How does one rate the experience? Physically down due to illness, emotionally down due the effects of the illness, worship is an act of will, based on certain facts which one holds on to and not how one is feeling. When spi...

I thought I knew how to care. I had a "humble pride" in the fact that years of working in health care settings, and working with those communities which are hard to care for had taught me the art and attitude to care. Till today when I was in for a surprise, when my true inner colour was exposed. We had brought home people closest to us to be cared for yesterday. I considered this privilege. And I knew this will not be easy, but I was prepared. Today is Sunday. One of those persons, who has advancing Alzheimers decided to join me and my daughter to go to church. A foolish decision rationally. Just settling into a new climate and context, exposing to the hot mid day sun of Delhi the first day of arrival is not a rational thing to do. The Dementia which prevents the person from accepting any alternative and makes irritatingly repetitive requests till accepted in the affirmative was difficult, but I gave in reluctantly. (with some resentment). Reflecting on this pattern...

Reflecting on life as a community..... One end of the spectrum is what i call the "Boiling Pot community." This is where there is outright conflict, each person lives for his own plans and desires. The end point is me, mine and no more. From this stage, because of various issues, the community might move to seeming peace. This is the "Simmering Fire community". Due to contextual pressures, there is a cohabitation, but an inner cold war. There is a hai, bye relationships but still the end point continues to be me. Some where down the line, due to a common agenda which needs to be fulfilled, people move into a "Lukewarm community" where there is peaceful coexistence for a common agenda. The end point of coming together is the common agenda, usually work, ministry or institution. From there, if guided well, one moves into a "Warming community". This stage is where members are protective of community, because the identity comes from...

Gentlemen, Whilst marching from Portugal to a position which commands the approach to Madrid and the French forces, my officers have been diligently complying with your requests which have been sent by His Majesty’s ship from London to Lisbon and thence by dispatch to our headquarters. We have enumerated our saddles, bridles, tents and tent poles, and all manner of sundry items for which His Majesty’s Government holds me accountable. I have dispatched reports on the character, wit and spleen of every officer. Each item and every farthing has been accounted for with two regrettable exceptions for which I beg your indulgence. Unfortunately the sum of one shilling and ninepence remains unaccounted for in one infantry battalion’s petty cash and there has been a hideous confusion as to the number of jars of raspberry jam issued to one cavalry regiment during a sandstorm in western Spain. This reprehensible carelessness may be related to the pressure of circumstance, since we are at...

No organization without a vision can flourish and grow. A vision, which might be more of a dream as of today, is what will motivate and keep the organization and its team to move ahead in the midst of various challenges one faces. Many a times, this vision, usually clarified at establishment of the institution or organization is more of a narrow vision . Narrow in terms the impact one wants to see happening, in terms of the model and even at times in terms of the scope of what one can or should do. This is based on the narrow understanding of issues before getting in to be involved in issues at the ground. Health care institutions established by mission organizations are a good example to study. In many locations, Missionaries has a vision of disease control, and curative services, as an entry point to preaching the gospel, and this has to be supported by generous donations from their parent churches so that free charity care can be provided. As one creates the structures t...

I am quoting from an article in Christianity Today of 2009. “The reasons Christians developed the world's first health care system—as opposed to simply medical practitioners—are as relevant today as they were 2,000 years ago. In Gary Ferngren's book Medicine and Health Care in Early Christianity , Ferngren says, "Christians of the first five centuries held views regarding the use of medicine and the healing of disease that did not differ appreciably from those that were widely taken for granted in the Graeco-Roman world." Medicine, as developed by the Greeks, was a naturalistic field. Doctors studied the body, made observations, and practiced their art without appeal to Greek divinities. So Christians had no reason to oppose its practice. When an epidemic struck in the ancient world, pagan city officials offered gifts to the gods but nothing for their suffering citizens. Even in healthy times, those who had no one to care for them, or whose care placed too gr...