Because Success is a Lagging Indicator…
I can still hear her saying it. She had been asked why so many people engage in ultimately destructive behaviours, while healthy habits are quietly ignored. Her answer was simple, but it has stuck with me. “Because success is a lagging indicator.” Naturally she elaborated, but she didn’t need to. Those six words were enough to bring the “ah ha” of recognition to me. “Because success is a lagging indicator…” We often think in terms of cause and effect. Put your hand on a dish straight out the oven, and there is an immediate yelp of pain and and...
Read MoreDelays: A spirituality for flying…
I’m writing this blog at the airport. It’s my fourth flight in two weeks and each has been delayed. Apparently I will now be boarding in 6 hours time. None of the delays has been weather related, so my temptation is to go on a rant against everyone’s favourite airline – but I won’t do that. Instead I thought: “Let me put what I so often say to the test. Instead of raging against what I can’t control, let me see if my advice to spot God in the unexpected means anything when my plans don’t go as I’d hoped.” So what am I saying to...
Read MoreWhy not try framing…
In his insightful book The Remarkable Ordinary, Frederick Buechner observes that artists get us to see things by putting a frame around them, effectively saying, “stop and notice me”. Often it is with very ordinary things, a flower, a bowl of fruit, a human face. The artist puts a frame around it and our attention is drawn, and we notice beauty and mystery in new ways. Buechner goes on to suggest that we should put frames around little moments of our life, and then stop, look, and listen to what they are saying to us. I’m trying to put his suggestion into practice, pausing...
Read MoreGrateful, Engaged, Open: 3 Postures to Adopt
If you know me, you’ll be aware that I’m in my mid sixties. There’s something about being 65ish that gets people to ask, “So how are you feeling about life?” They know I am not retired but suspect I might be soon; they know I’m in good health – but hey, at this age anything could be around the corner (though I could live to a 103); they know I’m still writing and preaching and teaching and training, but then at 65ish you don’t take any invitation for granted. My usual reply is: “I’m grateful for the past, engaged in the...
Read MoreFrom Mindfulness to Watchfulness…
I usually enjoy excellent health but some months back succumbed to a minor ailment which required me to be on medication for 10 days. The doctor informed me that as a likely side effect was sleepiness, I should take my daily tablet half an hour after I finished my evening meal. Came day four, and about thirty minutes after dinner I stopped and thought, “Have I taken my medicine?” Answer – I had no idea. I had a vague recollection that I might have, but had been so busy doing one thing after another that I really wasn’t sure. I tried to recap my activities and to remember what I had done…...
Read More