Great Fully Grateful

Today's photo taken in a bird sanctuary in Brazil near Iguazu.

At the beginning of the week I was nominated on social media by my daughter-in-law, Lisa Andradez, to a 6 day challenge to share for 6 consecutive days a photograph I have taken at some time about the natural world.  I immediately started looking through my folders of photos, looking for 6 photos that would be completely different while at the same time show a variety of creation.  As I sifted through and began choosing I felt such gratitude because I have had the privilege of visiting so many places and had such wonderful experiences conjuring up great memories for me now as I look back on what each photo represents.  To others who see them, they are probably just interesting photos but for me they are reliving wonderful times that I have had the great privilege to experience.  People and situations have come flooding back to my mind, experiences that have made me the person I am today.  What a wonderful world indeed!

My great-grandmother, my grandmother, my mother
and elder brother.  Sadly all have now passed away.

This week we have also had the pleasure of a visit from my elder sister, my brother-in-law and their younger son.  We have been able to chat at length face to face and not just over the phone.  We have been able to go out and share meals together - 3 sisters, my brother-in-law and 3 cousins.  And so I am grateful for a wonderful family who over many years have shared and helped each other, celebrating important occasions and looking back on happy days gone by.  I have a number of photos of my family that go back 5 generations.  I can't even remember where I managed to get copies of some of them or when I put them on my computer but it was good to be able to share them and remember our parents and grandparents and even our great grandmother, seeing photos of us when we were small and as we grew older.  There is one of my younger sister taking her first step (to try to get hold of the camera) and one of my elder sister's wedding and again with her children when they were young.  Again, precious photos bringing back cherished memories and a grateful heart for wonderful Christian parents and a very happy childhood.

Cherish the NHS!

Yesterday I had my check up at the Eye Clinic following the removal of a cataract from my right eye just over 4 weeks ago.  I am delighted with the outcome, being able to see things I haven't been able to in years.  I can now read the subtitles on the television news and see which number bus is coming before it actually gets up to me.  I go along the street now reading car number plates, just because now I can!   On my visit yesterday, the consultant was very pleased the way it had turned out and has given the go-ahead to get the other eye done as soon as possible.  Yeah!!  Can't wait!  I am so grateful for the many talented doctors and consultants (particularly in this case Mr Shah) who are so dedicated and learned so as to restore sight to the 'almost blind'.  It has given me a new lease of life and much pleasure in being able tp see details that I missed before.  It may seem a routine operation to some but for me it has meant so much.  Thank you to all who work within the NHS in whatever capacity.  Be grateful for our NHS and cherish it.

So this week has be a great week and I am fully grateful.

Now and Then

The farm owned by the blogger mentioned

A blog I follow commented this week about the way the countryside has changed, at least in the USA.  He was noting the difference between the number of small family farms that have now been taken over by the much larger and highly mechanised form of growing crops and farming animals.  He says that today only 15% of Americans live in rural areas.  In 1945 30% of Americans were farmers owning land with an average 195 acres.  Today less than 1% are farmers and most crops are grown on farms of over 1000 acres.  You can see his blog post on this link entitled Disappearing Farmers (October 21st).  I guess that is only one of the changes in the way our food is produced.  It is also true that the way we food shop has changed greatly over the last few decades and our expectations when we shop.  We now expect and usually get fresh food all year round as though there are no longer seasons for crops.  We can get food grown in more tropical climates whenever we want, more or less, without considering the cost of shipping this around the world just for our convenience.

The other day I had a conversation with a friend about the basket she was carrying.  She had made it herself from willow that grows on her land.  I made the comment that she should try selling them and make a business for herself.  Her reply was practical but a bit sad I thought.  She said that what she could charge for them and what people would be prepared to pay just wouldn't pay for the hours it takes to make them and so it would just not be cost effective and certainly not a way to make a living.  We came to the conclusion that sadly many old crafts are slowly dying as people either don't have the spare time to take them up as a hobby or they are no longer a way to earn enough money to be able to sustain a decent way of life.  To be fair, I had to admit that when buying something, price is a big consideration and if the item serves the purpose we buy it.  For most of us then it's more a case of why are we going to pay more just to get something that has been handmade when the cheaper version serves us just as well?  .    


This week saw a very important date in time travel.  Many will understand when I say the date October 21st 2015.  That was the date that Marty McFly experienced when he flew in the time travel car from the year 1985, 30 years into the future in the film Back To The Future.  There was much on the news as people considered just how many of the things that he experienced in the film actually are now commonplace and which things never came to pass.  Of course much of the technology we now take for granted could not have been envisaged 30 years ago - individual mobile phones, internet connection on the go from just about anywhere and being able to talk face to face to someone on the other side of the world.  I'm sure you can think of many other ways that our lives have been revolutionised and changed forever. 

All this brings to mind the truth that things are continually evolving and changing.  Some things are sadly lost while other things are received with much pleasure.  Maybe it makes us think about the things that are under threat and if we really want to lose them or if they no longer serve their purpose in a modern era.  The same goes for religion.  We hang on to traditions, just because they are traditions when maybe we should be letting them go in favour of other ways that are more compatible with our world today.  Tradition is good but only if it is fit for purpose.  Just as we evolve and change and the world around us is constantly evolving, we should continually be evolving in spirit in order to continue to follow where the spirit leads.  Why do we do the things we do?  Is it simply because that's the way we've always done them?  Is what worked in days gone by working today?  Is it making a difference and making our world a better place?  Our faith is worth nothing if it's not applicable to our lives now in the 21st century.  It is good to remember the past but not to live in it.  What do I need to hold on to and what should I let go?  My belief system must be relevant to my life now or what's the point?  These and many more questions come to mind when thinking about my spiritual journey now and then.

Civilised - Or Not!

Earlier this week many people in Spain and the Americas celebrated Columbus Day, the day that Columbus first set foot on land on the other side of the Atlantic on the 12th October 1492.  At the time, Columbus and his associates went in order to find new land and claim it for the Spanish crown.  They actually thought they would find India going west instead of east as was the usual route. When they arrived in the Americas, they realised that this was a 'new world', somewhere they didn't know about.  They.saw how much gold and treasure there was and how friendly the native inhabitants were and realised how easy it would be to dominate them, making them slaves, forcing them to accept their christian faith and robbing them of all their wealth.  The native population were treated like animals that needed to be 'civilised'.  The truth is that many tribes were actually more civilised than the Spaniards, having a good system of social care, a healthy economy and thriving trade.  They were knowledgeable in many aspects of life including the arts and crafts as well as their study of the solar system and the natural world around them.  In opening their hearts and arms to receive their new guests, what they received was abuse, murder, pillaging and slavery - all in the name of Christianity.   Nowadays there is a growing movement to rename the day in favour of the indigenous people rather than Columbus.  


Although nations no longer go around the world killing and pillaging as in the past days of European empires, there are those who still find ways of destroying what is not theirs and taking for themselves what rightfully belongs to others, of course with promises of payment of a kind.  We need look no further than the same American continent to note that vast parts of the Amazon jungle are being cleared in order to have land where cattle can be raised.  This is so that more cattle can be farmed in order to keep down the price of beef for more northerly  parts of the world.  Apart from the damage to the planet's climate that the destruction of the Amazon jungle causes, there are countless indigenous tribes that have been swallowed up in this scheme.  Some feel almost forced to comply with what they are asked to do while others still fight on to keep what is rightfully theirs and the lifestyle that they choose to live.  It begs the question, 'Who are the savages and who are the civilised ones?'   The photo shows the systematic clearing of the jungle to make way for cattle.

On a happier note, this week I saw an article on social media that was also remembering an incident from the past.  Fifteen years earlier a small boy had fallen 18 feet into a den of gorillas at a zoo.  Everyone was dismayed as they thought that he would certainly be harmed.  However a gentle female gorilla called Binti approached the unconscious boy as he lay on the hard concrete surrounding the den.  She picked him up and cradled him in her arms, patted him a few times but got no response.  Everyone thought that surely now the boy would be hurt but instead Binti picked the boy up and walked almost 60 feet to an access door where an attendant and a paramedic could see to him.  All the time Binti guarded the boy from the other gorillas, growling at them to make sure the boy was kept safe.  I can't help thinking though that if any of the bystanders had been carrying a gun, they would have shot Binti without a second thought, presuming that on approaching the boy, she intended to harm him.  

We may not physically harm someone or rob them of any worldly goods but how often do we prejudge others?  Sadly many white people seem to have the attitude that they are in some way superior to those of a darker skin colour.  It might not be expressed in words but certainly in attitude.  How often do we look at a person's way of dressing or the house they live in and prejudge them without getting to know them?   Who would have thought that a gorilla would treat a human being with such care and gentleness in comparison to the way many people treat their fellow human beings?  People aren't better or worse than anyone else - they are simply different, sometimes by choice and sometimes by their cultural background.  I always remember my dear mother telling us as children, 'God loves everybody and so must we.'  Wise words.  Maybe being civilised is really about living God's love through our daily activities and attitudes and has nothing to do with authority, power and wealth.

Dividing Walls

It would be almost impossible for any person living in Britain not to be aware that this week saw the final of the Great British Bake-Off and know who won the title of Champion Baker.  There are those in the media who tried to claim that she won because of her ethnicity and religion to try and make a point that we are an open and accepting country.  Actually if those responsible for such accusations had actually seen the wonderful creations that she baked they would have realised that she won because she was a very capable and creative baker who although she began the competition struggling, she worked and worked until she overcame her doubts and succeeded in creating some amazing culinary delights.  She is a young mother of three young children, has beautiful eyes, a charming smile, a great sense of humour, some wonderful facial expressions and has come out with some great self-deprecating one-liners.  She has endeared herself to the heart of the nation.  Well done Nadiya.  She just happens to wear a scarf to express who she is.  People who cover themselves with tattoos do so in order to express themselves as does a gentleman who wouldn't be seen without a bow tie, feeling it gives himself a certain air of charm.  They all express themselves by their appearance.

Pope Francis has also been in the news again this week.  Last week we saw that during his visit to the USA, he met up with people of many faiths and religious ideologies other than Roman Catholicism.  This week the news is that in November he plans to meet up with some leaders of the Evangelical and Lutheran church in Rome and apologise for the way the Roman Church has treated Protestants, bearing in mind that it was Martin Luther, after whom the Lutheran church was founded, who was the reformer who opposed Roman authority and as a result the Protestant movement was formed.  


I was brought up in the ways of The Salvation Army and I was also reminded this week by a friend that the co-founder of that organisation once said, 'I don't believe in any religion apart from doing the will of God.'  It is a sad fact that over the centuries, Christians have forgotten the truths that Jesus taught about God's  all-encompassing love being for everyone.  Instead we have emphasized the divisions and differences, making them more important than our walk with God.

Another friend this week has said that after 8 years 'outside' of organised church he will be returning as part of the leadership team of a church in order to help out his friend.  He wondered what the reaction would be of those who had also left organised religion behind.  Is he a religious turncoat?  Has he changed his opinion about church structure? Is he in or out?


It saddens me when people think that you have to be either 'In' or 'Out'.  Why?  Which part of the Bible tells us that?  On the contrary.  Jesus speaks of God's love being unconditional and for all.  It was as much for the Roman centurion as it was for Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin.  He preached from a boat as well as in the synagogue.  He accepted those on the fringes of society as well as those who were faithfully observant of their Jewish faith.  After the resurrection, he walked through walls to join his disciples as they met in secret.  No walls or locked doors can keep him out.  He also met with them by the lake as they went fishing.  He taught us that God is Spirit and we must worship him in spirit.  God really is everywhere.  The Psalmist so many centuries even before Jesus appeared said that there was nowhere we can go and not be in his presence.  There are no walls, whether physical, imaginary or religious that can keep him out.  Yet we continue to build walls of division, separation and exclusion.   Whatever walls we may build and divisions we think up, they don't mean anything to God because he is Spirit, everywhere.  When are we really going to understand this truth?    

God's love is unconditional.  There are no conditions that we must observe in order for us to be in his presence.  In or out?  Does it matter?  God breaks through barriers, frontiers and divisions. Let's stop building walls of division and trying to box God into our own ways of doing things.  He refuses to be forced into our boxes.  Just let God be God wherever we are and however we choose to seek him.  Does it matter if we wear a scarf or bow tie or have tattoos?  Does it matter if we meet with a certain group of people on a specific day in a specific place?  As long as we seek God, he will meet with us.  Outside appearances and man-made rules don't affect his love for all of us.  He only looks on our hearts, what we feel in our spirits.  I just seek his presence and to know and do his will.  Everything else is not that important and of no real consequence.    

Get A Life!

I saw this photo the other day.  Apparently it has now gone viral.  It is obviously a crowd of people waiting to see their favourite celebrities.  When you look more closely at the picture you see that everyone is ready with their camera, iphone or tablet to get the occasion for posterity so they can look at it later at length.  Everyone, that is, except a small, white-haired lady right at the front.  Maybe she doesn't own any such device.  But on the other hand she doesn't have to be concerned with getting the right angle or if someone sticks their head right in front of her just as she is taking the longed-for photo.  She is just happy to be there and is soaking up the atmosphere and I guess not missing a thing.  Her total concentration is on the event of the moment and she is enjoying whatever is happening right now without being distracted by searching for the optimum position and getting ready to click, making sure to click the right button at the exact moment.  She is engrossed in the moment and enjoying it to the full.

At the beginning of the week (for those who aren't on my friends list on Facebook so don't already know) I underwent an operation to remove a cataract from my right eye.  People I spoke to who have had it done all told me that it was nothing to worry about and that I wouldn't feel a thing.  It would all be over in no time at all.  Everyone tried to console me and I tried to take it all on board but if I'm honest I was still a little apprehensive.  

Learning about something, whether from books, professionals or friends and actually experiencing what they are describing can be two entirely different things.  It's the difference between saying, 'People told me about it' and 'Now I know what it's like'.  

Ask any young mother who has just given birth for the first time or a sports fan who watches a game on television while other fans go to the venue and watch it in person.  You can't really absorb the atmosphere and the feeling of being carried along by other fans who also want to cheer on their team.  The singing, the cheering, the banter.  They will tell you that there is no comparison between watching it on a screen and watching it for real.  The experience far outweighs seeing it second hand.

Also at the beginning of the week we had the rare occurrence of the supermoon and lunar eclipse that could be seen around the world.  Many people stayed up to watch it.  Others who had work or other commitments really needed their sleep so opted to watch pictures shown on the news the next morning.  Although I am retired and don't need to go to work, I still slept through the night and missed actually seeing the event as it unfolded.  The pictures I saw were indeed quite spectacular and it's an event that won't happen again until I'm well into my 90s, if I'm still with life that is. I'm sure though that for those who did see it, they would look at pictures and just know that you can't capture the same feelings of awe and wonder at the workings of the heavens.  You have to be in it to feel it.

 You can have a great deal of knowledge about a subject or event but that doesn't compare with the actual experience.  We can look at photos or pictures, read articles or books but the experience allows us to identify with the occasion and the people involved.  It involves emotions and conjures up feelings of wonder and pleasure.  We never know what the future will bring or how long we have in this life so it's a shame if we spend too much time just having second hand knowledge rather than living the occasion with all that that entails.  It's rather sad that so many people spend so much time learning about something that they never get to really enjoy experiencing it.  Embrace the moment to the full.  Immerse yourself in the experience.  Go for it, even though you may be a little apprehensive.  In the nicest possible way I want to say 'Get a life!'