Green Patches

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!

 

 

 

True Prayer

"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you."

 John 16:12-15

It seems fair to say that our human experience is a paradoxical mixture of, on the one hand, a sense of connection and harmony with other people and the world around us and, on the other, disharmony and estrangement. The good connections are made and the possible healing of any arrangement gradually brought about through particular transformative experiences within our everyday existence. These may or may not be self-consciously "spiritual." However, this is prayer in the broadest sense. Prayer is, therefore, not just one activity among others - one that is self-consciously focused on the presence of God and our presence to God. Prayer embraces the whole rich mixture of event, action and receiving gifts that constitutes our relationship with God in the midst of human life.

 Philip Sheldrake, Befriending our Desires, p 58-9