“There is something incredibly nostalgic and significant about the annual cascade of autumn leaves.” – Joe L. Wheeler – I was on retreat at the beautiful and cold Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria, Australia, this past week. It is autumn in our ‘down under’ part of the world. Each season speaks to us, holding its own…Continue reading Autumn: A Time to See More Clearly
Category: Health, Wellbeing, Spirituality
Hildegard of Bingen and her Love Affair with Fennel
“Even eaten raw fennel does not harm the body in any way. In whatever form one eats fennel, it makes us happy, gives us a good skin colour and body odour and promotes good digestion.” – Hildegard – Fennel was a regular star in the meals consumed in my childhood. To this day I can…Continue reading Hildegard of Bingen and her Love Affair with Fennel
The Scarcity of Wonder in our Black-and-White, Know-it-All World
“If I had influence with the good angel who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world would be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life as an unfailing antidote against boredom and disenchantments of later…Continue reading The Scarcity of Wonder in our Black-and-White, Know-it-All World
Father, Forgive Them, For They Do Not Know What They Are Doing …
In a few days time, those of us who hold to a faith in Christ will remember his brutal murder. Good Friday normally fills homes, halls, churches and cathedrals with people commemorating the crucifixion. I am not sure why the day is called “Good” Friday in English. In German it is called “Karfreitag” – The…Continue reading Father, Forgive Them, For They Do Not Know What They Are Doing …
Want to Learn about Community? … Listen to the Trees!
“Trees also understand that slowness is the key to a good life. For humans, at the moment, it feels like life is going faster and faster. This way of living uses up so much energy that the quality of our lives doesn’t get better. We should slow down.” – Peter Wohlleben – My father…Continue reading Want to Learn about Community? … Listen to the Trees!
Assumptions: The Noxious Weeds of Relationships
“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.” – Isaac Asimov – The front garden demolition has started. Since moving into this house in November, I have been eyeing the garden beds, overgrown with weeds and noxious plants that have taken the…Continue reading Assumptions: The Noxious Weeds of Relationships
Want to Walk the Road Less Travelled? Get off the Success Treadmill!
Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. – Robert Frost – The ‘road less travelled’ is an alluring and romantic notion. It’s the idea that we can take steps out of our secure boundaries from time to time and feel like…Continue reading Want to Walk the Road Less Travelled? Get off the Success Treadmill!
Reflection on Rites of Passage
“Few of us go through life without taking part in some kind of rite of passage.” – Hank Nuwer – It was the French ethnographer and folklorist, Arnold van Gennep, who first coined the phrase “rites of passage”. It is the ceremonial event that exists in all known historical societies that marks a person’s passage…Continue reading Reflection on Rites of Passage
Questions in the Desert – Part Three
Faith is a dynamic and ever-changing process, not some fixed body of truth that exists outside our world and our understanding. God’s truth may be fixed and unchanging, but our comprehension of that truth will always be partial and flawed at best. – Bishop Gene Robinson – Dear reader, please be aware that this blog…Continue reading Questions in the Desert – Part Three
Questions in the Desert – Part Two
“We are not called by God to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love.” – Jean Vanier- Dear reader, please be aware that this blog post is a continuation from Part One. … The story of Philip and the Eunuch encourages us to pay attention to God’s Spirit in our lives. It also…Continue reading Questions in the Desert – Part Two