Refresh: The Case for Mercy
I’ve usually thought that a merciful person is someone who doesn’t stick the knife in when they could. While that is a part of being merciful, this Refresh post from March 2023 reminds us that there is a lot more to this challenging practice – and it is a practice, because being merciful is not a theory, but something you do in the real world of complexity and muddle… Refresh: The Case for Mercy I have been working my way through the Beatitudes and surprised myself by pausing for longer than usual at the 5th: “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy”...
Read MoreWhen Faith is Strong Enough to Doubt…
I’m always interested in what people remember from the books I have written. In When Faith Turns Ugly it’s the little line: “The opposite of faith is not doubt but certainty.” Though a little counter intuitive, at another level it is self evident. If you are certain of something, faith is surplus to requirements. You know because you know because you know. Who knows where that certainty came from, (and some people have amazing stories of the intervention of God in their life) but if it is there, it is not faith that keeps you keeping on, but a sure and certain...
Read MoreRefresh: The Arrogance of Procrastination
Some words just sound judgmental. Procrastination is one of them. It’s not usually cited on the list of virtues, and realistically it is usually unwise. This Refresh post from Aug 23 looks at both sides of procrastination – times when it is best not to rush in, and times when procrastination is a form of arrogance or entitlement. I thought it worth a repost. Refresh: The Arrogance of Procrastination It was a perspective I hadn’t thought of before, and it struck me as insightful. She said it with some emotion. “People always think that procrastination is about being lazy, or...
Read MoreBeing Human: The Divine and the Demonic…
Have you heard the quip that people in customer services understand why Noah only let animals on the ark? If you’ve had to deal with the ire of someone sent pears instead of apples, or whose order of milk chocolate ginger biscuits was substituted with the dark chocolate version, you will smile knowingly. Sometimes the smallest things can show us to be petty, mean spirited and filled with a rage that simmers just below the surface. The picture isn’t pretty. But it is not as simple as that, is it? Change the circumstances and the same people can be generous, sacrificial,...
Read MoreRefresh: Then I Remember, Death Comes Before the Rolling Away of the Stone
Regular readers of this blog know that Mary Oliver is one of my favourite poets. Some of her questions never go away (“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”) while others linger on, inviting deeper and deeper thought. Todays refresh post from July 2023 picks up on one of these insights, “Then I remember, death comes before the rolling away of the stone.” Here are some of the thoughts this line initially sparked… Refresh: “Then I Remember, Death Comes Before the Rolling Away of the Stone” It was a throwaway line in...
Read More