Humility – a baseline virtue
I imagine you have heard the usual quips about humility, often of the “I’m the most humble person I know,” variety. While we might smile at the quandary the “are you humble?” question places us in (if you answer yes, it means no; and no means yes) it’s still worth asking. Perhaps it’s not about rating ourself on this virtue, but thinking about why it matters. There is of course a case to be made against humility. It can mean struggling with a sense of unworthiness, or of feeling second rate – or a downright failure. There is no virtue in that,...
Read MoreBeyond Disappointment…
We all have to deal with disappointment. While our expectations are sometimes exceeded, often it works in the opposite direction. You were sure you’d get the great job you applied for, but then didn’t even get an interview. You thought a new relationship was going to go to a new level, but then the other person ended it. You thought you had aced an exam, but the examiner failed you. Disappointment comes in many different forms. It’s easiest when it is linked to a specific event – because then you have something tangible you must come to terms with (I didn’t make...
Read MoreWho would have thought? When change is possible…
Ever had one of those “who would have thought” moments? I’m thinking of those in the positive category – when you are delighted that something has unexpectedly come off, or you are so pleased that someone you underestimated has hit a six. True, we also have dismal and disappointed “who would have thought” nightmares when things don’t go at all to plan – but this is not the place for those. I’m writing this just a short while after Easter. Easter Sunday was history’s greatest “who would have thought” moment. Who would...
Read MoreJust Another Sunday?
Don’t know about you, but Easter has snuck up on me unexpected. In my head I think of it as an April thing, but of course it’s on the first Sunday after the full moon on or after the Spring equinox, and sometimes that’s in March. It’s so much easier to remember Christmas with its solid 25 December location (unless you are part of the Orthodox tradition, in which case it is 7 January). Ah well, what’s it about dates and remembering? For most Easter will be just another Sunday. Except it isn’t. Those who think that Easter has nothing to do with them...
Read MoreFriday…
If you are part of the Christian world, you’ll know that we attach the descriptor “good” to this Friday. “Good Friday.” It would have seemed an impossible stretch if you had been there on the day. If asked to give your own word you might have chosen “tragic”, “awful”, “brutal”, “cruel”, “ruthless”, “barbaric”. If of a more cynical or world weary frame of mind you might have selected “predictable”. “Predictable Friday.” Why? Because it was. Look at what was happening....
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