Who 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....
Read MoreThe Darkest Night…
About 40 years ago an older friend spoke to me about “the dark night of the soul” that he was going through. I had never heard the term, but he told me it was initially coined by St John of the Cross in a poem of that title. I was struck by the idea, conjuring up images of a stormy night when in the thunder, damp and gloom you temporarily lose perspective and doubt the goodness of God. Not that I related to the idea. My own life was going well – I was recently married, we had brought our first home, doors were opening up to me – there was one good thing after another. But my...
Read MoreTruth telling: Words as weapons or healing balm?
I have a few mantras I trot out often enough to be annoying. One is “facts are friends”. And they are! Even though we might not like what they are saying, it’s better to face reality than to have it forced upon us. So I am in favour of telling the truth, and developing environments in which candid conversations can take place – though I do work hard to demonstrate that candour and kindness do not have to be incompatible. My stance then is that truth telling works… except when it doesn’t. Are there times when we should lie – or if not lie, avoid...
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