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'My' School 1977/78
Thursday, 13 September 2012
Shots of Mary's Trip...
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'My' School 1977/78
Monday, 6 August 2012
Where Are You Now?
Instructions For Living A Life
These 7 words have potential to open hearts and resuscitate souls. Yet our tendency is to 'like' what Mary Oliver has written, to read it quickly, and move on.
Awareness practice will slow this process down--a lot--and teach us not only to like it but to stick with it till we metabolize it.
And as we metabolize it we also may come to understand that Something ELSE might be written and metabolized. Something about inviting others (with eyes and smile and body language and Presence) to do the same--to tell us what astonishes them.
And then to listen, listen, to practice listening, liking, savoring--and gentle prompting.
We could do a lot worse than go through a day, any day, THIS day:
I didn't write this. I found Michael Hudson's blog,'Ordinary Mindfulness' about a year ago, and have been a regular visitor ever since. What I feel about this post is ,that it points up a profound truth - you don't need to bej religious to be spiritual, and to be spiritual is simply to feed, rather than starve, the inner self that is the truest you. And to feed others too, if you like.
Instructions for Living a Life
Mary Oliver writes
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.I
These 7 words have potential to open hearts and resuscitate souls. Yet our tendency is to 'like' what Mary Oliver has written, to read it quickly, and move on.
Awareness practice will slow this process down--a lot--and teach us not only to like it but to stick with it till we metabolize it.
And as we metabolize it we also may come to understand that Something ELSE might be written and metabolized. Something about inviting others (with eyes and smile and body language and Presence) to do the same--to tell us what astonishes them.
And then to listen, listen, to practice listening, liking, savoring--and gentle prompting.
We could do a lot worse than go through a day, any day, THIS day:
Paying attention.
Being astonished.
Telling about it.
And inviting others...
to do the same.
Tuesday, 31 July 2012
I did!
Dear Mark Harper,
I am very concerned about the cuts to the National Health Service,having read that 50 000 jobs are to axed. I find it very difficult to believe that this number, if accurate, will not have a detrimental effect on patient care.
If this Coalition Government cannot demonstrate an ability to safeguard the National Health Service, neither of its constituent parties will have my vote at the next election.
On a not unrelated matter, I suspect, I read in the editorial of The New Scientist this week ('An Appeal To Fairness' 28 July 2012) that 21 trillion dollars are held in tax havens world wide, a sum greater than the combined GDP of the USA and Japan. Whilst applauding the fact that this 0.001 per cent won't have to fear the cuts in our NHS, I do wonder if our government is doing enough to make tax avoidance socially unacceptable, and perhaps, taking sufficient steps to close loop holes in our tax system?
As a retired public servant who never had (or sought) any means to choose whether or not I paid what I ought in taxes, I was unimpressed with the logic that lowering the top tax rate, would gain more revenue, because those subject to it would be more likely to pay it. What is legislation for, I wonder?
Yours sincerely,
Mary Francis
Write To Your Representative
Twenty-one trillion dollars are stashed away in off-shore bank accounts worldwide, by just 92,00 people. That's just 0.001 per cent of the world's people holding assets greater than the combined GDP of both the USA and Japan. Now this really isn't fair.
These figures are quoted not in 'Lefty Today' or 'Marxism for the Minority', but in the highly respectable, 'New Scientist' journal published weekly in the UK. (newscientist.com) The science in question, is of course, psychology, and the editorial ('An Appeal To Fairness' 28 July 2012) gives an account of research in the field of society's attitude to inequality.
Why do we stress out sick people by trying to force them back to work they are demonstrably unable to do, or blame homeless people for their inability to make it - people at the bottom of the pile, struggling in a system weighted against them - whilst remaining silent about this particular obscenity? The NS editorial might be read as a homily in our churches. It wouldn't be though. Too radical perhaps?
The editor is strightforward about his belief that, 'There is no authority to whom we can simply wail about unfairness in the hope of restitution. We are the responsible adults now.' I don't censure him for this; on the contrary, I am delighted that he brings the issue of fairness in our society into prominence, what I do question is why we citizens of faith aren't making more of a noise. Too comfortable perhaps?
Whatever our stance we ARE the responsible adults. We do have a say in what laws shape our society. We can make a difference.
These figures are quoted not in 'Lefty Today' or 'Marxism for the Minority', but in the highly respectable, 'New Scientist' journal published weekly in the UK. (newscientist.com) The science in question, is of course, psychology, and the editorial ('An Appeal To Fairness' 28 July 2012) gives an account of research in the field of society's attitude to inequality.
Why do we stress out sick people by trying to force them back to work they are demonstrably unable to do, or blame homeless people for their inability to make it - people at the bottom of the pile, struggling in a system weighted against them - whilst remaining silent about this particular obscenity? The NS editorial might be read as a homily in our churches. It wouldn't be though. Too radical perhaps?
The editor is strightforward about his belief that, 'There is no authority to whom we can simply wail about unfairness in the hope of restitution. We are the responsible adults now.' I don't censure him for this; on the contrary, I am delighted that he brings the issue of fairness in our society into prominence, what I do question is why we citizens of faith aren't making more of a noise. Too comfortable perhaps?
Whatever our stance we ARE the responsible adults. We do have a say in what laws shape our society. We can make a difference.
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