I simply remember my favourite things and then respond in love

John Poskitt recently led a conversation on “What are your favourite things”. He began by asking what two things had brought joy to our hearts in the last few days, two of our favourite things. It was interesting to listen to what others shared. I thought back over the days that had gone by and thought of two things, one professional and the other personal. The professional was the two funerals I had led on either side of the weekend before I went on leave. They felt like good funerals, despite the grief. Many people have commented on this since. There was so much love expressed in the reflection of the lives of two dearly loved people, David Copley and Pat Pitcher. Two people who had lived good lives and shared so much with so many. Something I felt powerfully during both services. It was also lovely to catch up with many people who have meant so much to during my time as a Unitarian. There was a deep sense of love and warmth as I reflected of some wonderful human beings, the living and the dead.

The last few months, in fact the last year of my life, has been a struggle with regard to grief and loss. I have lost several friends, some in tragic circumstances and I have had to hold so much in my heart and soul. I have held some difficult confidences. I have done so with loving integrity. It is important for my own soul to reflect back on this, something I have been doing these last few days. There has also been several losses in both congregations, that no doubt have taken their toll on all of us, as well as our personal losses. Times are difficult too. The world is living through a challenging time, this can weigh heavy on us. This is why it is vital for our souls, to seek out what brings us joy, what makes our heart sing.

This brings me to the second thing that I shared, a favourite thing that brought me joy. I have recently joined a choir. I have been to three rehearsals and my goodness it has been wonderful to begin singing with others again. Yes, it will take time to feel free and comfortable and to fully find my voice. That said it feels like something that will bring joy to my heart and soul.

I wonder what are your favourite things? What brings you joy, makes your heart sing? What brings you joy, what aids your soul in times of challenge and or concern?

To quote good old Julie Andrews in that classic Rogers and Hammerstein musical

“When I'm feeling sad I simply remember my favorite things. And then I don't feel so bad.”

When you remember your favourite things, when you feel lifted up and don’t feel so bad, I would like you to do something else. To think what you can do with what you have been so freely given. To offer a simple gift to the world. Yes, enjoy your pleasure, but having done so I would like you then share your pleasure with the world. Well maybe the not the whole world, but you can start with those close at hand. To give from your heart.

You may recall how I share a daily reflection upon awakening each morning, I share it on social media. It started in December 2022 and I have continued to do so every single morning since. If I have a rare lie in and do not post before 9am people become concerned. It’s kind of nice that people pay attention, but can be a little annoying. The practice began after I was left a gift on my door step, I was going through a difficult time of struggle and person wanted to offer a gift of love and care, it touched my heart. I have been left many things ever since. It is a beautiful way to offer love and care. It happened again this week. I had mentioned during several conversations that I had been unable to buy sardines from the supermarket. Well obviously an angel was listening as I woke the other morning I found a favourite thing, a very fancy tin of “Specially Selected Cornish Sardines in Mediterranean sauce”. The gift deeply touched me. People are lovely.

I have also been touched by an ongoing conversation I have been having with Keiron the manager at café Nero in Altrincham. He has been through some trials and tribulations over the time I have known him. He seems much more settled in himself these days. He took up a new hobby a while ago and he has kept me updated. He began to rear “Siamese Fighting Fish”. It seems to have taken over his life and he has begun breeding them. It is wonderful to hear his full engagement with this new passion, it has become a joy, a blessing and a favourite thing. It has transformed his struggles into something wonderful.

I love the way that people find and create beautiful and wonderful things from their struggles it inspires me greatly. So many people and so many things have inspired me when I have found myself struggling with one thing or another. They are favourite things, that I simply remember and then I don’t feel so sad, to quote Julie Andrews:

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad

I have been thinking of people who have inspired and guided me and given to me from their hearts. When I think of them they remind me of those “spots of time”, that lift me up when fallen, that William Wordsworth wrote of.

Here is William Wordsworth in his poem “Prelude” describing such moments as “spots of time”. Wordsworth wrote:

“There are in our existence spots of time,
That with distinct pre-eminence retain
A renovating virtue, whence–depressed
By false opinion and contentious thought,
Or aught of heavier or more deadly weight,
In trivial occupations, and the round
Of ordinary intercourse–our minds
Are nourished and invisibly repaired;
A virtue, by which pleasure is enhanced,
That penetrates, enables us to mount,
When high, more high, and lifts us up when fallen.”

William Wordsworth, The Prelude (Book XI, ls 258-278)

“Spots of time” are, epiphanies, those moments when life not only feeds but truly nourishes us on a deep, deep level, deeper than the marrow of our bones; moments when the common becomes uncommon,; moments when the veils we create ourselves seem to slip away; moments when we seemingly see beyond the ordinary; moments when we experience reality on a deeper level.

These moments can happen anywhere. For Wordsworth these “spots of time” occurred primarily in nature. We all experience them in different ways, in different states and in different settings. Those moments when time seemingly stands still; those moments that touch us at the core of our being; those moments that transform our lives; those magic moments. Time seemingly becomes compressed or concentrated in these moments when the senses become heightened, when life seemingly has a deeper meaning. Moments when life becomes denser and deeper. These are not necessarily supernatural moments by the way; no, they are firmly grounded in reality. In these moments time appears to be slowing down, although obviously it does not. Time does not so much stop as become compressed, the moment becomes concentrated. There just seems to be more of life in that moment, but it lasts just as long. Maybe the moment is deeper, not longer. Time is time after all. It is what they call “Cairos Time”, not “Chronos Time”.

When I look back at my life I can think of those moments when deep powerful meaning has emerged seemingly out of nothingness and all of life has felt connected.

These moments though are not just to be kept for me, they are to change us for the good of all. That has been my experience at least, as they have always come after difficult times. They have always shown me ways to better love the world.

I am sure if we look back we will find that we have all of us experienced such moments in our lives, moments that we carry with us, throughout our lives. Moments when time has seemingly stood still, moments that have changed us or as I prefer to see it woken us up or woken something up within us. I feel certain in saying that we have all know such epiphanies.

The question is though, what can we do with them? And can we “bring them alive in others”? I believe so. I also believe it is our task to do so. This is where the meaning comes in life, it certainly has in mine.

Now what this meaning is for each of us to discover ourselves. We each have our experiences and we each have our own favourite things and we each have our own special gifts that we can share with the world. It doesn’t have to be anything big and glorious. The key is to respond to the whatever little thing is close at hand. This to me seems to be the embodiment of faith and works, to quote those famous words form the book of James. As Viktor Frankl stated it was the responsibility of each individual to find their own meaning in life, that this was in many ways the ultimate freedom and that it could not be prescribed for us. That said it was more than just our ultimate freedom, it was also our responsibility. In fact he taught that the ultimate freedom was to be responsible for what is yours.

It begins with accepting who we are and actually loving who we are, we are then better able to do what we can. This is exemplified in the following There is a wonderful ancient Jewish story about Rabbi Gamaliel. He was asked by one of his students if he thought he had done enough with his life. He pondered the question for a moment before answering...

“When I die, God will not ask me, ‘Gamaliel, why were you not an Abraham or a Moses? God will ask me, ‘Were you Gamaliel?’”

To be who we are means that we must embrace our God-given natures and talents; it means that we accept who we are and make the most of it; it means that we do not try to be something or someone we are not. We take responsibility for what we have been gifted. Our job is to nurture and develop these gifts not merely for ourselves, but for the good of all.

Remember what brings you joy, what are your favourite things? Those moments and those people that have inspired you and lifted you. Remember them, re-feel the memories, absorb them into your being and then respond in little and beautiful ways or in huge ways if you can. This is the spiritual life in its essence. It is purpose and it is what will give our lives true meaning. In so doing we may just begin to create the “Kin-dom” of love right here, right now.

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad

Please find below a video devotion based on the material in this "blogspot"

Step Into the Twilight Zone: Finding the Courage to Be

Have you ever got the lyrics of a pop song wrong, been singing the wrong lyrics for years. I have and I have heard of many hilarious examples of others too. One that I have only realised I have been singing wrongly to myself for forty years is “Twilight World” by “Swing Out Sister”. I have always known it as “Twilight Zone”. This is why when I searched it this week on Google, it didn’t immediately appear. Here’s the chorus

Don't be fooled by love songs and lonely hearts
You're living in a twilight world
Don't be fooled by love songs and lonely hearts
Don't give in to the twilight world

So not “Twilight Zone”, but “Twilight World”, it gives the song a very different meaning. Hopefully things will become clearer as the lights come on. Oh, by the way I love the phrase “Swing out sister”, which I have used for many years.

Sometimes life can feel a little like you are living in an episode of the “Twilight Zone” or “Alfred Hitchcock Present” or a personal favourite “Tales of the Unexpected”, programs that are repeated on “Sky Arts”. Or more contemporary versions such as “The X Files”, “American Gothic”, “The Outer Limits”, “Inside Number 9”, “Black Mirror”, or perhaps “Stranger Things”

And if I only could
I'd make a deal with God
And I'd get Him to swap our places
Be runnin' up that road
Be runnin' up that hill
Be runnin' up that building
Say, if I only could, oh

“Stranger Things” indeed!

I felt like I was in an Alfred Hitchcock movie the other evening. A friend had come round. After a while I noticed some crows from my window. They were making quite a racket; it was quite disturbing. Molly was certainly agitated. I said to my friend, it feels a bit like that Hitchcock movie “The Birds”, it was strangely disturbing. After a while Molly got really agitated and began barking at the door. I calmed her down, but she wasn’t happy. My friend eventually left, as he did Molly shot outside with him. There by the door was a crow. Molly investigated but didn’t attack it. It wandered into the garden whilst the other crows squawked and flew around. I directed Molly inside and my friend stood around. As he did the largest crow swooped down, pecked at his head and flew off. It was obviously attempting to protect its fallen friend. My friend was in a state of shock and bleeding from his scalp. It was quite disturbing. He texted his mother, who he cares for. She was quite upset with him, as she thought he was joking with her. While all this was going on she had been sat at home, with a friend who was taking care of her, they had been watching “The Birds” by Alfred Hitchcock.

“Living in the Twilight Zone”?

My friend is ok. He went for a tetanus injection and was looked over by a doctor and nurse. Both of whom had never heard of such a thing. His mum will not be watching “The Birds” again, but she is ok.

Molly wasn’t her usual self for a few days; she is ok now. On Sunday she did something she had never done before, and it terrified me. After the service on Sunday we walked to John Leigh park, down the back roads. We were meeting her friend Ronnie and my friend. We arrived early and Molly just ran down to the garden area, something she does often. I was talking on my phone and sauntered down the path to the bottom of the park, as if walking round the park. I don’t normally do this, usually we walk into the middle of the park. After a few minutes I called out to Molly, she did not appear. I went looking for her and no sign. I searched and searched and couldn’t find her. my friend arrived with Ronnie, still no sign. Fear then began to take a hold and the whole park was looking for her. I bumped into Jennie Louise who is a dog psychologist, she told me of her dog once doing something similar and that it ended up running all the way home. This though is not as far as Molly’s home. She explained that Molly will probably have re-appeared when she left me, found me not there, caught my scent and probably trotted home. My friend said she would walk the route back to my house, whilst I waited in the park. It was a very long 10 minutes, until my friend rang to tell me that Molly was sat happily waiting on my doorstep.

You can imagine the relief. I don’t think I’ve hugged anyone like I hugged Jennie and then I set off home so grateful and so full of relief. All was well.

It did show me the power fear. Life has settled down since, although I was exhausted by it all on Monday. A feeling that I have been feeling for a while. I talked with a few friends, met up with a couple too. That evening, I did something I’ve been thinking of doing for some time. I joined in with a choir, at the town hall. I had heard them singing a couple of weeks before. I joined some 60 people I didn’t know. They made me feel very welcome. I was quiet at first, but soon got into the spirit. I even knew one of the singers who took me under his wing. It was just what my heart desired. I was laughing about it the next morning with Rob, especially at some of the “luvvie’s” present, to which he said something like. Well in a few weeks you’ll be the biggest luvvie of them all.” He is no doubt right. Once I feel comfortable and find my voice, I will be flying. It was certainly what my soul needed as I found my bliss; as I found the courage to be truly me. Courage and the love at its heart will always transform fear.

Looking back I have felt at times like I’ve been living in “The Twilight Zone”, a place I do not wish to step into again. It also left me thinking about horror and thriller movies, why we watch them. I suspect it is rooted in this fascination with have with fear. I have also been looking at the birds around the house a little more closely. They are lovely and they sing the most beautiful songs and yet as I witnessed on Thursday they can turn when under threat.

Have you seen the film “The Birds”? It is a classic 1960’s horror/thriller directed by the great Alfred Hitchcock and loosely based on a story by Daphne du Maurier. The film is set in a Californian seaside town that is suddenly, and for reason never explained, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks; a terrifying film in its day that no doubt instilled a fear of birds into a whole generation. Hitchcock truly was the master of the suspense thriller; he knew how to tap into that fear that lurks within us all. I know as a child there were many films that tapped into the fear in me.

Fear has the power to inhibit but it also has the power of allure. I remember those terrifying public information broadcasts from the 1970’s, images that still stay with me, about the dangers of railway lines, and electric pylons and of course “Lonely Water”, with the terrifying voice on Donald Pleasence. Not that we headed the dangers, in many ways it kind of made them more enchanting for me and my friends. When I think of the more exciting childhood memories they were all laced with danger. I also remember a collection of “video nasty’s” that my stepdad must have got a hold of and of finding them and watching them and the waking nightmares and terrors that I suffered as a result. I was far too young to be watching such things.

The cinematic childhood memory that haunted me the most though was a Saturday night episode of “Hammer House of Horror”. It was a werewolf tale that vividly remains within my psyche. The image that had the greatest impact was of the beast at the window in the black of night and the person turning round and it being in the room with them. This was etched on my memory for years and to such an extent that I never dared look out through the glass of my room after dark. Even to this day there is a part of me that feels nervous if I look through “glass darkly”. A feeling re-felt with those crows the other evening.

There is a power and an allure in fear. It is something everyone experiences. It can overtake the rational mind and many exploit it in others. A feeling that seems to intensify in this age of muti-media and instant 24 hour rolling news. There are forces that feed fear and paranoia in folk, a power that at times can control people’s lives, beyond all reason. It can cause deep distrust and keep people penned in at home and paralysed.

Fear comes in many forms. We need not fear fear in and of itself. It is a vital part of our make-up, of our animal heart. It sets the pulse racing and heightens our awareness. Fright is a vital instinct. It points to danger; it’s a warning signal. That said there are other forms of fear which are not so useful. Perhaps the most debilitating of all is dread.

Dread and other forms of debilitating fear can overwhelm us and lead to crippling forms of anxiety which can inhibit us from simply living and being. When we are overcome by such emotions everything can appear bleak; our senses become dulled; it drains all the colour and taste from life. This leads to us projecting our anxiety and worry onto everything that we do in life; it takes the very life out of living and leads to abject misery. It drags us into pits of depression and traps us in the very things that we believe protect us from present dangers. As a result, we go deeper into ourselves and get lost and trapped in our black holes of doom and gloom. It can be very difficult to find our way out of these states of being. It sucks the life out of us and stops us being who we really are, all that we can be.

So how do we overcome the power of this debilitating fear? How do we find the courage just to be? Something I experienced once again on Monday.

Well I have discovered that it is not complicated. All it takes is just a little faith and a little love to create the courage just be. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Which of course it is, but it is far from easy.

This brings to mind a verse from one of my favourite hymns, that we sang earlier, “Others call it God”

The verse goes like this...

“A picket frozen on duty,
A mother starved for her brood,
And Socrates drinking hemlock,
And Jesus on the rood;
An millions, who though nameless,
The straight, hard pathway trod –
Some call it consecration,
And others call it God.”

The straight hard pathway of faith is not easy, but it is well trod.

The images depicted in this verse are of characters who had the courage to do what they believed they were there to do, whether a picket on duty, or a mother looking after her children or the likes of Jesus and Socrates who were willing to sacrifice their lives for love or truth...inspirations to me, inspirations to us all, inspirations that still sing to us down two millenniums or more.

Socrates was charged by the Athenian council with “corrupting the minds of the young, and of believing in deities of his own invention instead of the gods recognised by the state.”

He courageously contested the charges against him, but ultimately lost and as a result was condemned to die. He accepted the judgement of his peers, while responding with these immortal words “The difficulty is not so much to escape death...The real difficulty is to escape from doing wrong, which is far more fleet of foot.”

He did not fear death because he felt that it would take nothing from him of value. As he said to the court “I have never lived an ordinary life...I did not care for the things that most people care about – making money, having a comfortable home, high military or social rank.” Neither did he fear what death would bring which he saw as either the sweetest sleep or a journey to a better place, a place of justice. As he proclaimed, “nothing can harm a good man either in life or after death.”

Socrates would rather have surrendered his life, than his integrity. Both in life, as in death, he perfectly illustrated the courage to be. He had the integrity and therefore courage to say, “I have a more sincere belief than any of my accusers, and I leave to you and to God to judge me as it shall be best for me and for yourselves.”

“Jesus on the rood” (Jesus on the cross) like “Socrates drinking hemlock” is another incredible example of someone living out the courage to be. This is truly an example and beacon to us all. He was not immune from fear though. He experienced fear and doubt at the very end, as he hung dying on the cross. Who wouldn’t? In the Gospel accounts of his life, he rarely quoted scripture, but at this moment he did. That said he did not quote the comforting 23rd Psalm “I shall walk through the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil for thou are with me”. No, instead he quoted the much starker 22nd Psalm “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me?” He did not quote the comforting words “My cup runneth over”, instead he cried out “I thirst”.

Some might say where is the courage here? Well, it is in what comes next, as he utters “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” In these words, lies the essence of his message of radical love. For Socrates integrity gave him the strength to be; whereas for Jesus it was love; the love of God and the love of neighbour as for self. He surrendered himself utterly to his purpose and to his God as he uttered those immortal words “Father, I commend my life unto thy spirit.”

This is where we find the courage to truly be, to overcome the power of unnatural fear, through living in and through love, truth and integrity. Love will always overcome fear; love will always enable us to find the courage to truly be all that we can be. Again as the verse depicts, it is love that enabled the picket to stand in the freezing cold, to stand up for what they believed in; it is love that motivated the mother to sacrifice herself for her children; it is love that enabled both Jesus and Socrates to make their ultimate sacrifices.

We will always know the emotion of fear; we will always feel fear. We need it, fear is a natural instinct. That said we need not be enslaved by it. We need not fear the crows perched above us. To be free all we need do is live in integrity, live in love and the courage to simply be will shine, from our very being. In doing so not only do we liberate ourselves, but we will become a light to others who in turn may be inspired to liberate themselves and others too.

Let love and truth show us the way to be all that we can be.

Please find below a video devotion based on the material in this "Blogspot"

Laughter, Silence and Solitude: Balance and the Paradoxes of Life

Extract from “Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth” by Matthew Fox

"I sense that the cosmos is not only full of surprises, but also full of jokes. Do all creatures play the role, unwittingly of course, of cosmic comics? Are we here to amuse one another as well as the gods and goddesses, the visible and the invisible? Do the angels laugh at us just as we laugh at them? If life becomes death and death becomes life, and darkness turns into light and light into unbelievable darkness — are there any limits to the amount of jesting that goes on in the universe or the number of surprises that stun us?

"To attempt to live without humor, without awareness of paradox all around us and within us, without the ability to laugh even and especially at ourselves is to contradict the universe itself. Too much sobriety violates the laws of nature. What Eckhart calls 'unself-consciousness' is often expressed in our ability to let go with cosmic laughter; it is a necessary dimension to common survival and therefore to our ethics. Erich Jantsch writes that 'openness to novelty' is part of an evolving consciousness.

"One person I know who dedicated his life to naming the paradoxes of existence was Ken Feit, who called himself a 'spiritual fool.' He challenged persons to attempt to listen to 'the sound of clouds bumping or a car clearing its throat or grass growing or a leaf changing color.' One of his favorite acts was to liberate ice cubes:

"Did you ever liberate an ice cube?
An ice cube, after all, is water that's kept in prison
to serve humans' needs by cooling their drinks
and soothing their headaches.
Well, I sometimes ransom bags of ice cubes
from gas stations,
take them to nearby ponds, and let them go
so they can return
to their water brothers and sisters.

"Is Ken Feit being foolish? Or wise? And what is he bringing out of us by his wisdom, or foolishness, or both? I believe the universe holds the answer."

I have never tried to liberate some ice cubes, but I might just give it a go.

As I returned home from visiting the other day, I popped through Altrincham, and bumped into a couple of people I have got to know, as I wander out and about. The first I know from the dog park. I see him everywhere. He is a delightful Canadian man who has done so many interesting things in his life. He now lives in Altrincham and it has been a delight getting to know him, his wife, his nephew and his two Jack Russell dogs. We talked for a while, as we do, I then moved on headed for home. As I did I bumped into one of my neighbours who I talk with often on the street and in Café Nero. He was asking me about my work, the stresses and strains, he listened and then asked me about meditation. We then shared a delightful conversation about different practices that we have engaged in over the years. I spoke about current practices. We talked and shared and laughed about the times when we have both have got overly serious about our practices. As we were laughing I thought to myself, well sometimes this is the best form of meditation and spiritual practice. Humour literally medicine, or at least it kind of was originally.

A little later I took Molly out to the park. It was a bit wet, but she needed to get out. We met a friend and their dog Ronnie. The dogs had a ball as we talked about both serious and ridiculous things. It began fairly seriously as we spoke of love and loss and grief, the troubles of life. In time though it descended into laughter as we shared stories of our lives and the folk we have known and know. It was a lovely hour of deep connection. One thing I told my friend is that I have never been able to scream. She found this hard to believe and then she began to work it out. As she said I was just born with this strange baritone voice. A child who could talk like an adult before they could walk, but could not scream. They found it hilarious and I found it hilarious as we tried to make sense of this phenomena. I am much too alone, but enough alone, to truly make sense of this. It is phenomena, some people cannot scream. The reason I cannot and have never been able to, is not due to physical damage though, I suspect it is purely psychological. I wonder if anyone else suffers from this, that they have never been able to scream, not one, in their conscious life.

My friend is a writer and I am a minister. We are both observers of life and create from what we see and experience. We make meaning from this. We are also people who spend a lot of time alone and other periods with others. The difference between us though, is that I spend far more time engaging and listening to others than my friend does, it is a requirement of my work. Anyhow I left my friend with the news that you can now watch every single episode of “The Comic Strip Presents” on Netflix.

I had a busy day with folk on Tuesday and as I headed for home I was thinking I need time to be still to let things sink in. I had listened a lot that day and shared somethings from my heart and soul, along as share in some ridiculousness too. So I went home and spent time in silence and stillness, sometime in quiet reflection.

The last few months have revealed aspects about myself, once again, some I like, some I struggle with. Greif and passing through grief, has a way of doing this to person. As I settled down that evening I read the following from Rilke.

“I am much too alone in this world, yet not alone enough” by Rainer Maria Rilke, 1875 – 1926

I am much too alone in this world, yet not alone
Enough to truly consecrate the hour.
I am much too small in this world, yet not small enough
to be to you just object and thing,
dark and smart.
I want my free will and want it accompanying
the path which leads to action;
and want during times that beg questions,
where something is up,
to be among those in the know,
or else be alone.

I want to mirror your image to its fullest perfection,
never be blind or too old
to uphold your weighty wavering reflection.
I want to unfold.
Nowhere I wish to stay crooked, bent;
for there I would be dishonest, untrue.
I want my conscience to be
true before you;
want to describe myself like a picture I observed
for a long time, one close up,
like a new word I learned and embraced,
like the everday jug,
like my mother’s face,
like a ship that carried me along
through the deadliest storm.

I love being with people, but am also aware how much I need time alone to “truly consecrate the hour. Like many ministers I am an introvert in the Jungian understanding. I am the kind of person who re-energises from spending time in solitude. I tend to give my energy when in the company of others and recharge in solitude. I need to be alone, with my God, to truly feel alive in life. This humbles me in the true meaning of the word. It reminds me I am part of the ground the earth. I always remember that linguistically humanity, humility and humus (meaning the earth), share the same linguistic root.

Ralph Waldo Emerson put it more beautifully than me in the following that he wrote whilst reflecting on the wonder of being in the woods.

“Standing on the bare ground – my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space – all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God.”

I love the beautiful paradox here “I am nothing; I see all;” I really love the last part “I am part or particle of God.” As I thought of these words an image of a Meme, I had seen on social media, also came to mind. It goes by the title “Serbian Proverb”, it read “Be humble, for you are made of earth. Be noble, for you are made of stars,” These words and that evening sitting reflecting on my day certainly humbled me and I live in hope that they will enoble me too. I know how important it is that I believe this. These two qualities are vital to a fulfilling life, they are not opposing dualities, more complimentary qualities.

It is emptiness, stillness, quietness that reveals the greatest paradox of life. For it is often in this emptiness that we truly understand how important everything is; it is the emptiness that reveals the fullness of life. As I constantly remember everything matters, every thought, every feeling, every word and every deed. For everything is a part of everything else. The mistake is to fall into the despair of emptiness, although perhaps this is a stage that we may have to go through. This mistake is formed from a superficial understanding of emptiness, for in doing so we may well end up dismissing life as a kind of dream, that doesn’t really matter or exist. In doing so we end up dismissing life itself as empty and unsubstantial, that it doesn’t really matter. If we do we enter that dangerous state of seeing the world with contempt and therefore dismiss the very real suffering of others. There is nothing either humble or enobling in this. To me the very point of emptying and going within is to enable me to truly connect with both the joys and sorrows of life, its difficulties and its successes in a very real way and therefore act in a noble way. It is the very stillness that will hold us in the storms we feel or witness and then not turn away but live in the way of love. Almost perfectly illustrated in the poem “I am much alone in this world, yet not alone” by Rainer Maria Rilke, I shared earlier.

“Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. Between the two my life flows”, said the 20th century Hindu guru, Nisargadatta Maharaj, who taught non-dualism. Carl Sagan once wrote, "For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love"

For me in the silence in the emptiness I find the love that connects me to all that is in a truly loving sense. In the emptiness my cup once again begins to runneth over. In so doing I can once again know the fullness of life and live in such a way that is indeed enobling. This is something both my neighbour and myself understand and something we shared in the street the other day.

By deepening in silence we discover that the apparent emptiness holds no real fear, instead it leads us to true beauty and joy; it leads us to the joy of living. In that space we can discover that we are “a part or particle of God”. In doing so we rest in the infinite space that is life and begin to live in both accord and harmony. This silence brings peace, wholeness and well-being. It humbles us for it allows us to see that we are made of the earth and yet also enobles us for we can see that we are made of the stars.

As I reflected that evening I also began to smile at myself and the people I had met and spoke with that day. I remembered the laughter and the connection we had shared in deep seriousness. How this human aspect is so vital to life. Now I have heard it said that humour is also linguistically linked to humility and humanity. It isn’t by the way, not that this matters. Humour has a whole different etymology, which is itself just utterly ridiculous. To be in good humour, meant to be in good health, that the “Umeres” were in balance, the strange coloured substances that moved around our bodies, were in balance, or so they believed a thousand years ago. Sounds funny today. Well ,no doubt when they look back at us and they write our history, they will probably think we were just as ridiculous. This is why laughter is the greatest medicine.

I need time with people to listen and connect and I need time alone. I need time for tears and I need, oh I oh so need, joy and laughter. They bring into a deeper relationship with life and with God. This is something I know for certain I am not alone with.

John O’Donohue claimed "I think that laughter is one of the really vital dimensions of the divine presence that has been totally neglected.

I often feel when the Divine One beholds us obsessed in our intricate maze of anxiety and planning and intentionality, that She can’t stop laughing.

It’s great for people, actually, to laugh, too. I love a sense of humour in a person. It’s one of my favorite things, because I think when somebody laughs, they break out of every system that they’re in.

There’s something really subversive in laughter and in the smile on the human face. It’s lovely and infectious to be in the company of someone who can smile deeply.

I think a smile comes from the soul. And I also love its transitive kind of nature—that if you’re in the presence of someone who has a happiness and a laughter about them, it’ll affect you and it’ll call that out in you as well.

Your body relaxes completely when you’re having fun. I think one of the things that religion has often prevented us from doing is having really great fun. To be here, in a way—despite the sadness and difficulty and awkwardness of individual identity—is to be permanently invited to the festival of great laughter."

We humans are complicated and paradoxical creatures, balls of contradictions. I know that I am. Just like the weather these past few days, we can experience four seasons in just one day. Just like the weather our moods and experiences constantly change. This si why it is so vital to remember to “Be humble, for you are made of earth. Be noble, for you are made of stars,”

None of us knows what the coming seasons will bring. There will be tears, but not always of sorrow, there will be joy and laughter too, if we can but stay open hearted and refuse to retreat back into those shells of self-protection. Let’s not be afraid of our tears, for there are tears of laughter too. Let’s enjoy every season for none of us know how many seasons we have left; let’s not forget, in the words of Conrad Hyers "The first and last word belong to God and therefore not to death but life, not to sorrow but joy, not to weeping but laughter. For surely it is God who has the last laugh."

Below is a video devotion based on the material in this "blogspot"