Green Patches

Blog of The Week - Lucy Mills on Life

Lucy ponders the inclusivity and exclusivity of social media, and suggests we pray for discernment to know when to use it and when to use our own hands and feet.

Do we save our comfort and companionship just for those who are easily reached on our devices? Do we neglect those who are not part of this happy digital ‘community’? So we never get round to – dare I say it – writing a letter or a card to someone who would deeply, desperately appreciate it in a world of 140 characters or less?

 - check out the rest of Lucy's post here.

 

I've touched on this topic myself  in the past.  Thanks  Lucy for reminding me of it.

 

Late Blog of The Week - The Cartoon Blog

Welcome to my Blog of The Week - 'late' this time, not  - thankfully - in the Precious Ramotswe, Alenxander Mcall-Smith sense, more in the 'unexpected diversion caused by fault at the telephone exchange and subsequent circuitous and ultimately time-wasting wanderings round the labyrinthine bowels of a certain provider's website and call centre system' sense of the word.  But that's another story, which, I hope, will not be set to run and run...

So, to BOTW: this time round, I chose what I call one of the 'Big Blogs,' Dave Walker's Cartoon Blog and his reflections on his struggles to maintain his creativity under pressure.  I've had a bit of a sea-change myself, lately, partly prompted by the examples of other people who've not been afraid to be seen to be vulnerable. (At times in the past, the dreaded words:"Now, I'd like us to turn to our neighbour and share..." has had me glancing at the door to locate  the nearest exit for the loo). Hence, I have a great deal of respect for those of us who have the courage to stand up and share their 'seagulls,' or in my case, 'seabirds.' Yes, I know the picture here shows a stork; there is a perfectly simple explanation for this here.

Seagulls, seabirds, storks; which gives me a chance to make an even more tenuous link: Wildgoose and tertiary and actor Paul Alexander's classic reflections on the work of the Holy Spirit: Chasing The Wildgoose which he originally wrote for Franciscan enquirers.

"In the Celtic tradition ‘the wild goose’ is the symbol for the Holy Spirit. The

 

wild goose is an enigmatic creature; once seen, never forgotten; once

 

heard, always remembered; here one moment, gone the next; fond of

 

desolate places and freedom; a romantic figure living a wild life; almost

 

impossible to follow, but once pursued, almost impossible to give up."

 

Keep your seagulls flying, Dave. They're an inspiration to us all. 

When I started this feature, I'd planned never to repeat a blogger, but, as it was International Talk Like a Pirate Day yesterday, I simply couldn't resist linking to Archdruid Eileen's Liturgy. 

                                                                                                                                                          aarrmen!

 

 

 

Widgets, randomness and serendipity

I've been directed  into the bowels of this blog - thanks to the delightful randomness of a new toy, the weird and wonderful widget linkwithin . Thanks to another newcomer on the blogroll, Filey Gardener, for twas on her blog that I stumbled across this tool for linking together similarly themed posts and, at least, (according to the site),  to enable you to give some of your old, dusty and forgotten bon mots an airing. 

Whether this always happens in actuality? I'm witholding judgement for now; from what I've seen so far, its system is, shall we say, 'eclectic', random, and with a certain illogicality that makes me wonder what on earth the Myers-Brigg's MBTI system would make of it. INFP, anybody? Why else would my self-indulgent wofflings about Greenbelt the other day be linked to the terse and succinctly-named post 'Dung!' Or, reviving my rusty ex-pat French, 'Crotte!' 

Still, to give it credit for perseverance, it's obviously determined to sharpen its accuracy, and, when I logged on earlier, I couldn't help smiling  when I noticed it had linked to two far more apposite reflections, written in the midst of my more embarrassing bouts of existential angst a few years ago: 'Vocational Self-Assembly Pack,' and 'the d-word: Dancing with the music of the spirit,'

Plus ca change...

 

Blog of The Week - Nun other Than a Franciscan Sister

We're back on time this week.  The last few days I've spent on pilgrimage with church,  the which has influenced my choice. With matters of journeying, physically and spiritually,  being very much on my own mind,  Nun other Than a Franciscan Sister 's  post on transition seemed pretty appropriate. What really grabbed me here was Sr Patricia's quote by Dr Howard Thurman:

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." 

 

Thank you.

 

Last week's Blog of The Week - Opinionated Vicar.

 

My Top Four July Posts (1): Get Knotted

From yesteryear. Seeing as we're nearly in the summer silly season, I thought I'd have a trawl through the Greenpatch archives and rake out some favourites from The Month of July. (Shades of Sesame Street; no , that's not Kermit in the photo - Ms GP won't thank you for thinking that!).  So, our first Greenpatch is:

 

From this time last year - Get Knotted. The whole month fell into the 'vocational angst' category, a theme that runs and runs as far as I'm concerned. I was finishing a year long spirituality course and wondering about the next step.   Get Knotted still makes me smile (Who says The Almighty doesn't have a sense of humour?!). I've more knots than a Girl Guide, and a year on, the both of us are still busily engaged on the untangling process; a process which, like the angst, is set to run and run.  

More thankfully - 2009-10 was also The Year of The Medical Test for me - much waiting and worrying about the state of the Greenpatch internal plumbing. These all came clear, thankfully, but the process has been an incentive for me to keep going with the vocational wanderings whenever my confidence has faltered.  There's nothing like gaining a perspective on one's own mortality to make you make the most of the time you have.

 

Next up: Graduation.

Slow, slow...Reprise of the 'D' Word

"God is the lead dancer and the soul is the partner completely attuned to the rhythm and patterns set by the partner. she does not lead, but neither does she hang limp like a sack of potatoes." (Thomas Merton, quoted in Listening to the Music of the Spirit: The Art of Discernment, by David Lonsdale: Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 1992)

 

For all those readers, who, according to stats are reaching 'Greenpatches' via a search for 'Ballroom Dancing,' I thought it about time to revisit  an old post: 'Listening to the Music of the Spirit: The Dreaded 'D' Word.'    Now with fresh clips. Enjoy.

Quiet Spaces

 Spring Has Sprung with a vengeance round here. So today saw me continuing the  resolution I made at the beginning of the year- with another trip over to sunny Salisbury. 

I have actually managed to fit in a couple of 'spaces,' since January; more by accident than design, funnily enough.  February's consisted of a quiet half hour or so in the Abbey Church at Douai, near Reading, prior to the start of a workshop there.  March's  time out, a quiet day with TSSF here, slightly less so; having organised, though not led, the day, I've discovered that an interior quiet doesn't always come about when you have your admin hat on.  

So, back to today, and my jaunt to Salisbury, to stock up on some travel gear for our next trip and to return some books to the wonderful library at Sarum College. What a glorious afternoon. The Cathedral and Close were far more crowded than they'd been  a few months back; naturally, the Spring weather had brought people out, but not opressively so. There was plenty of room for everybody who wanted to sit sunning themselves on the green or to wander round the Cathedral. (I must admit that I did make a point of avoiding the Cathedral guides, helpful though they be, I'm one of those cussed souls who far prefers wandering around by herself.  I guess it's my reaction to school trips as a teenager, being forced to trail round for what seemed like hour upon endless hour  on guided tours of sundry Places of Interest.  I liked  to do my own exploring and imagine folks from centuries past in my own way. There were several large groups of schoolchildren and students going round during the time I was there. I wonder if there were any who felt the same as I used to.

Ah well, at least, as a 50 something year-old, I no longer have to produce an essay on the trip afterwards. Such are the delights of growing older!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A time to give and a time to receive

To enter into solidarity with a suffering person does not mean that we have to talk with that person about our own suffering. Speaking about our own pain is seldom helpful for someone who is in pain. A wounded healer is someone who can listen to a person in pain without having to speak about his or her own wounds. When we have lived through a painful depression, we can listen with great attentiveness and love to a depressed friend without mentioning our experience. Mostly it is better not to direct a suffering person's attention to ourselves. We have to trust that our own bandaged wounds will allow us to listen to others with our whole beings. That is healing...

It is important to know when we can give attention and when we need attention. Often we are inclined to give, give, and give without ever asking anything in return. We may think that this is a sign of generosity or even heroism. But it might be little else than a proud attitude that says: "I don't need help from others. I only want to give." When we keep giving without receiving we burn out quickly. Only when we pay careful attention to our own physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs can we be, and remain, joyful givers.

There is a time to give and a time to receive. We need equal time for both if we want to live healthy lives.

 

 - Henri Nouwen

With the last session of  my course  tomorrow,  and with it, the stocktaking, reflection and 'Where to nows?' the arrival of the same Henri Nouwen passage in my feedreader via two different writers  is pretty apt, don't you think?  It says much about the steep learning curve that we've all been on. Do read Mike F and  A Man Breathing's Andy Wilkes take on Nouwen's thoughts on the wounded healer.   

I'm not here, Lord

 Stage Fright

It's often somewhat

Disconcerting when

God takes us at our word,

'Take me and use me',

We say, meaning it;

But when God does,

There is a  moment of surprise,

Perhaps terror. 'Me'?

Then, our 'Yes' loved from us,

Comes the realisation

That the opportunity is  gift.

The outcome held in grace.

Ann Lewin  (From "Watching for the Kingfisher")

Cycles, cider and circle dancing

A few  idle thoughts for a Tuesday morning. It does make me smile to see how many readers arrive on Greenpatches via searches for cycling events, notably La Marmotte, and Circle Dancing.  If I remember rightly, I've used the latter while pondering on matters of discernment, Dancing ( in my case suffering   umpteen corns and bunions  in the process) to the Music of The Spirit. No matter, it's nothing if not gratifying, in a modest, Greenpatch kind of way, of course. Even if the blogosphere now counts various puzzled folk dancers and cycle fans who're wondering just what they've stumbled upon.

Cider? Nothing whatsoever to do with this blog,other than  it begins with 'C'  plus Mr GP and friend have plans to embark on cider-making this year. Hmmm.