Slow down. Why on earth would we do that? I hear our cultural voice exclaim as it defends the relentless pressure for speed, productivity and efficiency. Have we somehow swallowed the idea that fast is always best? And that if something is taking too long, then it’s either weak and inferior, or it simply isn’t …
Showing someone that you see them is the greatest gift you can give. This powerful quote is from Digby Scott, a wise and insightful change-maker from New Zealand. I look forward to his weekly musings, knowing they will refresh and stimulate me and remind me of our humanity. The story behind this phrase is delightful. …
It was only as I stooped to really look that I saw the colour. Did you know that some daisies have this beautiful pink blush? I didn’t… DAISY If you want your mind to shrink,if you want reality to shriveluntil it’s little more than a wrinkled bagthen revere nothing,dwell only in the inorganicand mechanical,never bow …
Our longings are for what is out of reach. And our yearning is only in absence, not in fullness. Yet naming is a courageous act of vulnerability. It’s a vital first step of embodiment, a means of making real what we need. So I wonder what we might need to name in becoming whole?
I am looking for someone else to give me words. Words that will say the right thing, in the right tone, to speak with courage and compassion. Yet all I have are inner sighs. And that is enough for today.
To hear a whisper, we have to be very quiet. And to see intimately, we need to be still and right up close. And probably at ground level. We can’t do either if we are rushing around trying to save the world (or ourselves). And to be honest, our success rate isn’t very high. Perhaps …
This is where I start. No matter how much we’ve messed up – us, each other and the world around us – underneath it all is beauty. And it does matter what we hold as our basic tenet for life. Because it fundamentally shapes the direction we face, and that colours everything. This week two …
What a wonderful invitation to quieten down, to stop and look. To see again what is before us and enter. Walking with Wendell Berry’s poem has shifted my perspective over the last few days. What we need is here. It’s not gone. It is within us and between us. And there is no need to …
We may have an urge to tidy up. To sort things out or make them clearer. And sometimes, that is precisely what is required. Especially when we are threatened by overwhelm. Yet more often, we need the humility and courage to recognise that real life is gloriously complex. And that we need to live it …
There’s a good reason why they talk about photography as ‘painting with light’ (John Hedgecoe). So I find myself wandering around the valley, waiting for the sun’s rays to catch whatever I am noticing. And when it does, the result is extraordinary, bringing beauty to life. Similarly, there are times when light seeds simply illuminate …