Fr. Sebastian Jose

Come November and it is generally time to shed leaves for mst trees except the evergreen. It is enough to look at nature to see how most foliage shed their leaves. I was just looking at a huge tree right in front of the retreat House at Pastoral Centre in Shillong in early November 2003. That tree was continuously shedding leaves. Within a week or two it will have no leaves left and of course it will be an ugly sight to behold a tree without leaves. Probably the tree too must be feeling a little embarrassed about it.

But the tree knows that this state of leaflessness will only be for a short while; yet it has to go through some painful months before the onset of spring when once again it will be leaf laden.

It is so very different with the species called ‘man.’ Human beings find it so hard to shed their leaf of ‘ego.’ It is far from easy for man to embrace the world of the ‘other.’ It is very difficult for man ‘to let go and let God.’ If man takes occasional breaks to introspect and examine his consciousness, he shall realize the need to ‘shed’ his leaves, his egos, his petty ‘I, myself and my shadow’ world.