The wonderful thing about my daily wandering through the valley is seeing what emerges. From the tiny first shoots of an oak tree sprouting from an acorn to the little black squiggles of tadpoles. Yet I don’t see living beings – our more-than-human world – endeavouring to be something other than what they are. There … Read more
Can we hear our own voice? In a world full of noise, this isn’t easy. How do we know it is ours and not the echo of others? Does it sound like us? Is it a voice we want to be around? A stranger we want to meet, whom we wish others to know. This … Read more
This is the powerful title of a beautiful little book by Parker J Palmer, beloved by many friends. David Marlow reminded me of a quote from it yesterday: “Some journeys are direct, and some are circuitous; some are heroic, and some are fearful and muddled. But every journey, honestly undertaken, stands a chance of taking … Read more
Following yesterday’s post, What does this time ask of me? I recalled a phrase I was drawn to a while ago: fresh sight from the quiet edge. So I carried it with me while walking across the hillside after feeding the alpacas. Expecting to see something… FINDINGS AT THE QUIET EDGE At the quiet edge,away … Read more
This is Jac. I was trying to photograph those beautiful morning-sun-lit trees in the background. But Jac wanted to be in the frame. We all have Jacs. And sometimes, it’s us who assume centre stage. This is the way of life, and we have the opportunity to discern the difference between ego and calling. Because … Read more
We think we see reality when perhaps we only observe what we expect. And the stories we tell ourselves become amplified, and our role in them is firm and secure. Until they aren’t, and the world is no longer what we thought. Yet we have this opportunity to see with fresh eyes. If we are … Read more
‘Bright sadness’ is the term that Eastern Orthodox Christians use to describe the current season of Lent. This year, the phrase is incredibly evocative. And as I’ve been pondering on this place’s calling, I cannot divorce it from what is happening in Ukraine. Because places, while distinct, are connected. My place, here in the valley, … Read more
it is a serious thing just to be aliveon this fresh morningin the broken world + Mary Oliver, from Invitation, in A Thousand Mornings I am feeling the tug of place again. To understand what it means to be here, now, and fulfil that calling. So I go back to Thomas Merton’s words: Humans have … Read more
This week the On Being podcast re-aired one of the last interviews recorded with the Irish poet, theologian and philosopher, John O’Donohue, just before his unexpected death in 2008. The whole episode is a gift of beautiful words that will feed your mind and soul. To whet your appetite, here is a taster: “Beauty isn’t … Read more
What an expansive and life-giving question to start the new year! It came from the delightful and brilliantly insightful Dr Ernesto Sirolli*. What do you love to do, that brings you alive and makes you shine from the inside? It may be buried away, unused in a compartment of your life that you rarely let … Read more