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The Coronavirus restrictions and the media storms that have accompanied them have coerced us to all become more like islands, but ‘we are involved in humanity’…

Like many I guess, my mind has found itself not in a great place recently (relatively).

Struggles with our responsibilities, worries for our kids, relationship insecurities, finance struggles… The disruption in life’s comforting routines…

Everything feels very fragile at the moment.

If you have life sorted then I am happy for you, but I still seek a few answers.
When Bono wrote that he hadn’t found what he was looking for, did he know what he was looking for?  I am not sure what we all need? If anything. Or, what we-all might benefit from?

After John Donne’s No person is an island…”, in her Gift From the Sea Anne Morrow Lindbergh wrote, “I feel we are all islands – in a common sea.”

I think some form of commune-ity is a big essential requirement. 

Why gather together? Why seek a form of communal-hope (church)?

Is it important to have, people dedicated to a greater good (ekklēsia)?

Is it important to have a hope-filled (worshiping) community…

Why is it important to have a common hope (faith) at the route of an endeavour, why not just genuine, good, disciplined, intention? It’s been suggested that hope or faith is what fuels good intentions. Where does ‘love’ come in? 

Then again, what is it we want to achieve with our ‘love’ and our hope-filled good intentions?

“What’s more important,” asked Big Panda, “the journey or the destination?”
“The company,” said Tiny Dragon.

Wallace Stevens discussed the idea that the interaction between things is what makes them live. Indeed!

What might we achieve through; arts (worship), interaction (outreach) & soulfulness (spirituality)?

Our state of mind defines every relationship in our life. Some Good News is, we can change our state of mind.

Perhaps we can start with a regular ’practice’, of being present to the now, present to our surroundings, our community, and being genuine with ourselves and others.

I have found recently that through routine practicing intentional stillness, guided movement, and contemplation we might find an opportunity to notice and grow… …simply ‘showing up’ to connect and recognize what ‘being here’ feels like each day.  Waking up to your own experience, daily.  If we can realise how it truly feels to breathe and be alive, perhaps we can start to notice how to be genuine.

A lot can rest, a lot can be created from noticing ourselves in the present moment. When this is practiced regularly, it might be easier to be genuinely present with yourself… for others.

Despite good intentions – without community and the fuel to mend stuff, I regularly fail.

We are involved in humanity.

Forgive me I know utterly not what I do!

Where am I?

Where are we, when the longest queue in the small-town-village is the queue for the bookies, and the popular entertainment of choice is escapist superhero mystery & myth action movies?

I am thankful – I sit here in my garden, what I have right now are memories of a good holiday, a good cup of coffee in my hand, and intermittent blue skies.
Reading stuff recently made me think (surprise surprise you mutter!)…

‘Most people don’t want the truth, just constant reassurance that what they believe is true’. This struck me.

‘Ultimately the nature of mind is limitless.’ Nature has been very pervasive over the lockdown period,

‘A lot of what runs through you is fiction’ Christa Wells

The words ’fear ferments’ also resonated… (I’ve been reading Joanne Harris)

Just as an exercise during lockdownishness, I created a study I’ve called Sign Language below

Language and our cultural behaviour controls our consumption, what we eat and drink, when we work and create, or relax and holiday, it chooses what and how we love. It takes our wealth and builds monuments to its glory. Our culture is there at birth, death, & every important time between. It consumes all it can, and our culture discards what’s not needed.
Our cultural ‘Images’ breed ‘Assumptions’, which in turn create ‘Motivations’… I AM…

Over the lockdown period, I’ve been trying to practice awareness of breath, posture, stance, etc – ‘personal presence’ before ego and assumptions cloud the mind. It’s not easy and requires constant attention to ‘notice’. In her Youtube series ‘Home’ ’30 days of yoga’, Adrienne Mishler has a clever casual personal way of repeating words and phrases around the essential principals involved in yoga asanas. I found the practice went far beyond the words… 🙂

If you know me you’ll know I’m a miserable bugger! As a student of Art and Performance, with a view to creating and ‘discovering more’, I was taught to deconstruct. Deconstruction is useful, it helps us to discover the links between the ‘object’, the ‘subject’, and it’s ‘meanings’. But deconstruction can leave us with piles… piles of stuff that mean little. Stuff without value.

But we need some form of meaning, we need purpose…

In the media and our cultures at the moment, reassuring truths are not that obvious, but I sincerely hope you can find things to hold onto and cherish. There’s a lot to be thankful for despite the stormy skies.

Back again to my favourite quotes, from Wallace Stevens: ‘the interaction between things is what makes them fecund’.

‘They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth…’ Psalm 19

A friend asked me to think about an image for sharing, that evokes hope, life, renewal…?

At this time when constructs and assumptions we have relied on and perhaps taken for granted, what gives us hope?

I asked a few people, and a common response seemed to be nature and the beauty of creation. “Nature; birds, clouds, fresh green grass, new leaves showing on trees, fresh flowers emerging from the leaf litter, a new cycle of life”. I agree. But, the hope of nature might be questionable in the light of current biological natural events.

An overwhelming response was that hope could be seen in our children. I guess it’s the innocence, optimism, and energy they reflect. Someone said “Children of all different colours, races, creeds, coming together to make the world a better place”.  That would be nice.

Others again focused on nature; Springtime, Sunrise (hope of a new day), Rainbows….just something about them! Flowers/greenery. Birdsong. My dog. A chrysalis. Chocolate. The sun. Blue sky and sunshine. Tulips. Music. Singing. Grace. The promise of Spring. Memories. Stars at night?

One person said, knowing that bad things don’t last forever… (like my singing)

Perhaps what all these things have in common is energy!

All of the above are hope-filled pictures of growth and energy. 

My daughter said ‘hope’ was ‘strength’. Which I liked.

Our hope is in the energy to brighten, to mend, to move, to enrich, to empower… Whether you enjoyed it or not, you have to admit that Joe Wicks energised people recently (he did in our household).

The energy of life, being alive, if we could bottle it!!!? And share it?

Morning… like the first morning

Blackbird… like the first bird

Sweet the rain… sunlit from heaven

Ours is the sunlight…

Ours is the morning…

Praise with elation, praise every morning…

The recreation of the new day.