Sanctity

The feast of all Saints reminds us of all those who have been canonised AND all those who have made valiant efforts, but not yet recognised or forgotten.  Without the latter, the commemoration loses its essence.  Not often does every act of kindness or every deed towards goodness gets recognised.  That does not negate its occurrence or existence! 

Most genuine acts of virtue often go unnoticed or unheard of.  All those behind those repeated acts of virtue are indeed saints, even if no one notices or writes or speaks about them.  

Then, of course, there is the actual challenge of this feast...

Learning of the day: PS/2 devices

 Learning of the day: 

On a rather old computer/desktop, if you are connecting a PS/2 device, the BIOS will recognise it only at the time of boot.  So if you connect the device after the system has booted, the system will not recognise the device. Unlike USB devices which are detected immediately after insertion, the PS/2 devices are recognised only at the boot/reboot. 

So if you are testing a PS/2 device (keyboard or mouse) make sure it is already connected before you push the power button. 

Not a random photo, but a memory

 This morning Mummy posted a photo of the neighbouring paddy field.  The field is owned by a school and they use it to cultivate crops and this time round they cultivated paddy. Every other day one class of students are brought to the field and they get to 'get their hands dirty'! Literally.  Children get to do some sort of gardening or farming.  Of course, it is anyone's guess that they create more of a mess than any great help.  But at least it does offer them the possibility of engaging with the mud, the grass, the crops, ground water... They see for themselves and learn that rice does not grow in the supermarket.  Or that tomatoes and chillies automatically appear in the fridge.  

However, this morning when I saw the photo of that paddy field, it struck me: Mummy did not send it to me - which she usually does. Rather she posted it on the family group.  And there was a string of likes.  Out of curiosity I checked who are all those who sent in a 'like'.  I noticed that it was all her siblings and immediate cousins or in-laws.  

I know that that sight, the view of a lush paddy field floods her mind with memories.  All childhood memories.  Her love for gardening and all related matters is purely her way of staying connected with her own childhood and family.  She grew up in a farming household. She and her siblings have worked all their childhood in the fields.  They have seen their parents and elders all engage and live out of the hard work in the fields.  The sight of the paddy brings back to her all those memories.  And the same for her siblings.  Hence it is they who appreciate that field most.  They know what it means for the paddy to appear so. What it entails. The hours of toil. The days and nights of careful watching and observance.  The constant presence in the field.  The feel of the slush, of the grain stalks, of the mud, of the tools. 

The next generation of us have had none of it!  Hence her sharing that photo in her family group makes most sense than sharing it with me because that photos means a whole lifetime for them.  For me, it is just another any random photo!