Being at one with the contradictions

being-at-one-with-the-contradictions

I suspect I’m not the only one who, when faced with contradictions, assumes I must be doing something wrong. Yet things that ‘don’t add up’ is the very nature of life. Yesterday I was struck by the glorious call to being awake from the daffodils and caught the urgency of being alive. Yet I also … Read more

Now is the time

now-is-the-time

It is time,time to be present. To show up as fullyand as beautifullyas this first camellia. It is time,time to emerge.

Walking in the now but not yet

walking-in-the-now-but-not-yet

Do we get so caught up in the destination that we forget to be here? Yet this is the only place we can ever be. One foot in front of the other, even in the darkness. And waiting. Not the stuck kind, but the expectant, hopeful sort. The kind that trusts that we can see … Read more

Light seeds and being present

light-seeds-and-being-present

There are so many reasons we might put on a mask, but not all bad. However, it’s very easy to become used to covering up. Especially when times are dark or confusing. Yet what would happen if we chose to be present, bringing ourselves with us? Not trying to overcome the darkness but simply planting … Read more

Being rooted and grounded in love

being-rooted-and-grounded-in-love

We live in the illusion of being rootless. Yes, we can connect with almost anyone, anywhere. And people we have never met in person can become very dear to us. However, we do this from who we are and where we are. For while our sense of home might have grown tired and worn, we … Read more

Do tell me, what do you see?

do-tell-me-what-do-you-see

When you look at a friend: what do you see? Do you notice their stature or how they have their hair? Is it their clothes that draw your attention? Or is it something else? Something that expresses their essence, their wholeness, with the tone of the present showing up in the way they hold themselves … Read more

Standing in the flow of time

standing-in-the-flow-of-time

There is no waiting room for what is to come. We are here, now, at this moment. And we cannot go back and have previous moments again. So there may be things – ideas, actions, perspectives or words – whose time is now past. Or, to paraphrase Heraclitus: ‘We cannot step into the same river … Read more

Being in this moment of time

being-in-this-moment-of-time

While today marks the end of an era, it is also a day like all others. Where we make a multitude of small choices that tilt our lives in one direction or another. And as I write, I am looking at John O’Donohue’s words from his blessing for Matins May I live this day Compassionate … Read more

Ripples of light in the rhythm of time

ripples-of-light-in-the-rhythm-of-time

The colours caught my eye as I walked through the gate at lake level. So I looked up, expecting to see the source of the reflection in the sky. No rainbow. How could there be, with no cloud or rain falling? Yet here it was on the lake’s surface, shifting location as I walked by. … Read more

Softening our lenses with beauty

softening-our-lenses-with-beauty

We often think about beauty with a hard, convergent lens. Homing in on the details and noticing the imperfections. Oh dear, what’s happened here? Yet this is such a narrow, shallow perspective, focussing only on the past or the future. On how things used to be, or what we might create ‘if only’. However, beauty … Read more