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While the summer sun scorches like a blazing furnace, the crowns of the trees bend to the earth.
Are they bowing in fear of the rising heat?
The sweet, melodic birds have vanished one by one, leaving behind only the monotonous grunts and wheezing of the pigeons, yet the speeding wings of the tiny sparrows never tire, leaping endlessly as they soar low and high.
Swirls of dusty, sudden wind sting my eyes, dashing past in playful malice.
The vast expanse of the sky is draped in pastel blue, dotted with tiny clouds that seem terrified to cross the path of the fiery sun.
The streets stand barren of noisy children and rushing traffic.
Gatherings have dissolved, and laughter fades from the glittering night parties.
Both the earth and the sky bow to the absolute dictatorship of the summer sun.
Dear students, parents, friends and fans! Let me shed light on something essential: a timeless reality. While we walk through the valley of summer’s heat, something strange fascinates us with its unfolding secret of life. One thing we must know is that reality cannot be denied; yet, when realities are embraced as they are, that is the focal point that begets newness in life.
Having dedicated some years to the service of education here in Bahrain, this summer’s heat spoke to me with a greater, more profound warmth than ever before.
‘The Nest and the Nestling’ is the simple truth of nature, a harmony where there is a structure for life and life in the structure. Within this truth, a profound and radical truth is woven. Though birds vary in kind from place to place and season to season, they continuously thrive, revive, survive and sustain to honour the sacred landmark of ‘The Nest and the Nestling’, time after time.
Amidst the countless daily uncertainties and rapid, drastic changes in the pattern of today’s world, none of us can escape or even postpone the duty of thriving, reviving, surviving and sustaining our own ‘Nest and the Nestling’. If we fail, we risk a barren future: nests without nestlings, and nestlings cast out of nests. If mere birds, with their flapping wings and curved bills, can create a dwelling that allows their avian family to expand and thrive, what then is our duty?
For us humans, the process of nurturing is how we lay the foundation for a better family life. It is how we cradle the preciousness of life, nourish and foster love bonds within and around us, and humanise the next generation with a timely discipline of values and virtues. No nest remains the same, nor do the nestlings. No nest can hold its nestlings beyond its designated time; time and space inevitably shift as life moves through its stages.
Turning back to reality, my mind flooded with countless memories as I gaze upon my fondest refuge and most cherished place, ‘Sacred Heart School’, the ‘Temple of Learning’.
Oh! Dear Sacred Heart, I see your walls are craving that familiar, tender touch.
Your vast floors stretch out in empty silence, missing and longing for the thrill of rushing feet.
Your doors, used to yawn open thousands of times a day, are frozen in stillness. The innocent looks of the tiny tots, our little ones, those noisy, chirping birds and their amusing fairy tales have flown far and far away.
The bright and lively youth whose love and laughter of jokes once brought life to the green-padded ground are completely gone and cleared away.
Once again, nothing is left but the dull, rhythmic grunting and wheezing of the pigeons alone.
Reality eventually comes knocking. The day arrives when the nest must empty, and time demands that the nestlings dust off their wings, leave home, and forge new paths. At this pivotal moment, life asks a fundamental question of both the nest and the nestling: Did you lay a harmonious foundation? Did you cradle and nurture the preciousness of life, fostering deep bonds of love? And did you ground one another with the timeless discipline of values and virtues?
Let us never forget this noble truth: Nothing in this world remains the same.
Dear friends, let us strive to be fully awake to every passing second. Remember to make hay while the sun shines, embracing the present before it slips away.
Sr M Sujanthini
Sacred Heart School
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