the sensation of life
It is Saturday morning. There is nothing I have to do – or nothing urgent. I sit at the open window in my pyjamas with the sunshine, the trees now in full leaf, the early morning birdsong, the air touching my face. This is what I want to do. This is how I want life … Continue reading The Kingdom of Heaven
Real conversion is centred on God: it results from a deeper turning towards Him rather than a closer inspection of ourselves. … Conversion, at its root, is not the action performed but the source of that action, the experience of being loved.Dyckman & Carroll, Inviting the Mystic, Supporting the Prophet, 9 I am faced with … Continue reading Only
Prayer is subversive activity. It involves a more or less open act of defiance against any claim by the current regime… [As we pray,] slowly but surely, not culture, not family, not government, not job, not even the tyrannous self can stand against the quiet power and creative influence of God's sovereignty. Every natural tie … Continue reading Sermon to self
Dear One, I want you to enjoy your life. I want you to enjoy being alive. Life is full of beautiful and interesting things, and people, and places. There's far more here than you can ever possibly experience. Follow your curiosity. Let it be your guide. Do not worry about making mistakes.Do not worry about … Continue reading To you
In recent years I have twice become deeply bitter about how I have been treated by others. I was certainly not without fault – and I was treated unjustly and with a lack of kindness that hurt deeply. In both situations I became angry, and the hurt and anger transmuted into resentment and bitterness… Resentment … Continue reading Embattled, not embittered
The body holds deep sadness. The loss of people you love: those who have died; lovers and friends with whom you have fallen out, or lost touch; children who have moved away. The love you never received, that was not forthcoming; and the love you cannot give, your lack of capacity for loving. The loss … Continue reading Sadness
While making my porridge I practise gratitude – gratitude for the porridge, for being able to cook, for this body that can move and make, for being alive, being safe, and having food. I think about the importance of practising gratitude as a way to make explicit and grounded what is only implicit and theoretical. … Continue reading There is another world
You say you are lazy, but you're not. You go to work. You get lots done. You check you emails, update your FaceBook page and your Twitter account. You surf the Net looking up things of interest to you. You spend hours researching and cooking nice meals. If you want to do it, you do … Continue reading Oh no you don’t!