When Every Life Matters: A Reminder from the Homeless
During our holiday we got to spend two nights in Seattle. Our hotel was a short stroll from the truly impressive Seattle Central Library with its extraordinary architecture – a creative mixture of glass, steel, large open spaces and unusual angles. Bibliophile that I am I couldn’t resist a visit and thought I’d get a feel for the libraries priorities by noting what it was advertising on a large “what’s on” board. Centre stage was a notice announcing a remembrance service for three “beloved community members”. Sceptic that I can be, and not...
Read MoreAirport Time… All Seven Hours of It
Airports are genuinely fascinating. On the one hand they are a business like any other – transporting people or freight from one point to another – better airlines doing so in the notified timeframe and with all people and goods intact. But oh my, the stories behind the trips people are taking are not all the same. There are the seasoned travellers, usually there for business, the flight simply a necessary evil to enable them to do the work they are required to. You spot them straight away – dressed a little more smartly, laptops out as soon as allowed. Often they are only...
Read MoreOn waiting: Reflections on a Cruise
Rosemary and I are currently on holiday in the US and Canada, presently on a cruise from Philadelphia to Quebec to be more precise. Our journey started with a few hiccups. A passenger on our flight out of Perth tried to lift his bag into the hold, discovered it was too heavy for him, and as I was seated below, let it drop on my head – I kid you not! Fortunately I’ve a pretty thick skull so there was no harm done that a panadol couldn’t rectify. Then Rosemary, not to be outdone but willing to wait her turn, had a spectacular fall during the cruise embarkation process when amidst the...
Read MoreRose, Bud, Thorns – Because Perspective Matters
Roses are beautiful, but the most spectacular ones have thorns. It makes sense. Something as exquisite as a rose needs some protecting, for though lovely, they are delicate and vulnerable, and need some safguarding from grasping hands which might clutch their blooms without thought or heed. I recently led a leadership strategic planning day and instead of the tried and trusted SWOT analysis (strengths/ weaknesses/ opportunities/ threats) was asked to run a similar but not identical Rose/ Buds/ Thorns exercise, where you explore what is deeply pleasing about what you are presently doing (the...
Read MoreOn the Death of a Sister: Remembering Sheila
Last week was almost a really good week. So many things had gone right. A work project finished; I’d preached well on Sunday (well that’s what I thought); a lovely lunch with the family; a celebration of a friends 70th birthday (his wife wrote such a funny, lovely poem about him); and lots to look forward to – Rosemary’s birthday this week, and a trip to the US for a holiday the week after. A really lovely week, and then on Sunday night we got the news – my sister Sheila had died. Sheila, my oldest sister, the one who picked me up from nursery school at the end...
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