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Gratefulness
Neither the art, the science nor the mystery of my own body is fully understood by me. That is the first and probably the most important lesson my b0dy is teaching me: I don’t know anything much at all. I was put in mind of Tennyson’s poem ‘Flower in a crannied wall’ ‘Flower in the crannied wal I pluck you out of the crannies I hold you here, root and all, in my hand, Little Flower – but if I could understand What you are, root...
Neither the art, the science nor the mystery of my own body is fully understood by me. That is the first and probably the most important lesson my b0dy is teaching me: I don’t know anything much at all. I was put in mind of Tennyson’s poem ‘Flower in a crannied wall’ ‘Flower in the crannied wal I pluck you out of the crannies I hold you here, root and all, in my hand, Little Flower – but if I could understand What you are, root and all, and all in all, I should know what God and man is. Alfred Lord Tennyson This quote could be helpful: If you have a powerful relationship with failure you are on the road to possibility. Benjamin Zander.
I honour the interconnectedness of all life by being aware of it and taking delight in it more and more as time goes on. that is what meditation is: the interconnectedness of the universe, known and unknown.
My friend Colette, who has spent hours helping me one way and another. She is priceless and has no equal. Everybody is priceless and has no equal is what I have learned from her: just do what I can and learn to notice other people’s needs – something I am not very good at.
I don’t want to live any day over again. I am here now. If I go backwards, would be nowhere.
I desire oneness, unity. As Jesus prayed to his Father in John 17:21-22 ‘Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you, so that the world may believe that it was you who sent me.’
This moment is offering me the opportunity to be connected to the entire universe if I live it fully focused on the now. That is where everyone is.
I do not think I can plan to live more simply. If I live life with thankfulness each moment, joy and simplicity will be there too. Nothing could be more easily understood than breathing in saying ‘yes’ and breathing out saying ‘thanks’. I do not say it is easy to do, but it is easy to understand. If this task is persevered with, joy and simplicity will grow and develop like flowers in a well watered garden. And many other gifts will develop too.
I would be free and open and give everything I have.
The firsst thing that came into my mind was trees.
Most of our traditions have been inherited from the Northern Hemisphere. Two of them are not:. Anzac Day and Waitangii Day. The former commemorates a crushing defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps on the Gallipoli Peninsular and the latter the signing of the a Treaty between the Tangata Whenua (Maori) and the Crown (Queen Victoria). I choose the Treaty which, although signed By Governor Hobson on behalf of the Queen and numerous Maori Chiefs of the time, has never been fu...
Most of our traditions have been inherited from the Northern Hemisphere. Two of them are not:. Anzac Day and Waitangii Day. The former commemorates a crushing defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps on the Gallipoli Peninsular and the latter the signing of the a Treaty between the Tangata Whenua (Maori) and the Crown (Queen Victoria). I choose the Treaty which, although signed By Governor Hobson on behalf of the Queen and numerous Maori Chiefs of the time, has never been fu…Most of our traditions have been inherited from the Northern Hemisphere. Two of them are not:. Anzac Day and Waitangii Day. The former commemorates a crushing defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps on the Gallipoli Peninsular and the latter the signing of the a Treaty between the Tangata Whenua (Maori) and the Crown (Queen Victoria). I choose the Treaty which, although signed By Governor Hobson on behalf of the Queen and numerous Maori Chiefs of the time, has never been fully ratified to the satisfaction of both parties. It is a David and Goliath situation – a few ‘natives’ versus the British Empire. The Maori have the moral high ground, the Crown lags behind. Or it did. What I like about Waitangi Day is that it is a remembrance of the signing and a pointing to the fact that there is much work to be done and that we are doing it. Every year there are Treaty Settlements where land unjustly confiscated or other grievances are compensated and apologised for by the Government. So on February 6 each year we celebrate and also remember that we have a long way to go. And,lest we forget, the Tangata Whenua stage a protest or two.
I’m working on this one right now. I want to be open and friendly, so there’s no need for walls and barricades. I want to be courageous and work for justice, so there’s no need to shrink back into the shadows. I want to listen to the views of others and learn from them, so there i is no need to contradict them when they say something I disagree with. So there’s work to be done right now and that’s why I’m on this web site. .
I am waiting for my dinner to cook. It is a one pot wonder of rice, lentils, vegetables, chia seeds,cumin and turmeric.I have just added some asparagus spears cut into one inch long pieces and a tomato. It will all be ready to eat in ten minutes. While I am letting it cool for ten minutes or so, I will wash the dishes. Then I will enjoy this wonderful meal one mouthful at a time, lost in wonder of the great gift good food is, in its growing, harvesting, marketing and preparation.
This is a tough one for me as I spend most of my time in solitude and silence which I love, because in solitude and silence I am most in touch with the whole world. It was not ever thus of course. I lived for 48 years as a member of a religious order, where all the members supported and helped me in various ways. It was there that I met Brother David. He said that he spent six months every year as a hermit. I thought, ‘You lucky man.’ The thought did not go away. Ten years later ...
This is a tough one for me as I spend most of my time in solitude and silence which I love, because in solitude and silence I am most in touch with the whole world. It was not ever thus of course. I lived for 48 years as a member of a religious order, where all the members supported and helped me in various ways. It was there that I met Brother David. He said that he spent six months every year as a hermit. I thought, ‘You lucky man.’ The thought did not go away. Ten years later I asked if I could experiment with living the contemplative life. I did this for a year and then decided I wanted to make it permanent. I formally left the order and have been living in a small flat belonging to the order ever since. To get back to the question: everybody is helping me. My neighbour just dropped and helped me with this computer; two taxi drivers helped me; a medical professional made a scan of my bones; the receptionist showed me the way to the car park. All that in in one morning.
The splendour of being alive and able to appreciate everything that comes my way to the utmost possible for me right now.
Amazing John. One road closed for you and you found another to travel along. You saw the possibility and grabbed it. Thanks for the great example.
That is the amazing thing about humans. Their ability to get on with things and bring everything back to ‘normal’ as soon as possible and be there for each other.
Thanks Antoinette for expressing that thought. I was struggling to find it but could not. All I could think of was trees.
I have been hearing about those terrible fires on the radio and have been wondering if any of you on the web site were involved.. The sheer terror of the uncertainty of the fire’s path. My radio has just told me that 200.000 houses have been destroyed. God be with you all and keep you safe.Your quote from A.A. Milne brought tears to my eyes.
Thanks for a good laugh, Kevin, but please do not send us your President. In compensation ,I’m sure you have a very happy dog.
I really liked your answer. I wish I could travel on your bus. I would learn a lot from you that I need to know. Let’s keep on working at it.
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