I appear to be following a wee tradition of hanging on to the musical coat tails of Graham, who’s blog I follow. He keeps mentioning albums that I already love, or find myself subsequently loving. Keep it up, musical Guru!
This being a case in point- the new Elbow album, ‘Build a rocket boys!’
This one reduced both Michaela and I to tears today-
About a year ago, in response to the looming general election result, I made some political predictions on this blog– always a risky thing to do. Here is what I said, as I seem to have been proved strangely sage-like…
“Some of us never had many illusions about the Conservatives, but they have emerged as ruthless, calculating and thoroughly tribal.
“But that doesn’t mean to say we can’t work with them. I think they have always been that way, but you have to be businesslike and professional and you have to work with people who aren’t your natural bedfellows and that is being grown-up in politics. We are going to continue to do that.”
This is a photograph taken on our recent retreat. I think the glow above the fire is an internal lens/filter reflection. Cheap filters are a problem I am told! But it looks like something has been created from our gathering- or perhaps the old truth that where we gather in his name, he is in the midst of us…
Gathering around a fire must be stamped somewhere in the middle of what it means to be human. After all, it must be just about our oldest form of social gathering.
There is a story about a micro technology project that visited a village in Africa, offering to install a solar powered lighting system. “Why do we need this?” asked the village elders. “What benefits would this bring to our people?” “Well,” replied the aid workers, “you will be able to work later in the evening, your children will be able to study and use computers and your wives will be able to prepare food more easily.” The elders considered for a while, then politely declined the offer of the electricity system. When asked why, they replied “There are enough hours in the day for work. In the evening, we gather round a fire and tell the stories that make us who we are.”
On our recent retreat, we gathered round a fire. It was tricky- there were no trees on the island and a fast tide race sweeping the shores clean, so we had to gather wood from nooks and crannies all over the rocky shores. We told stories of hopes and dreams, and prayed using incense that we scattered on the fire (to symbolise the fragrance of Jesus) and iron filings that sparked us into awareness of the power of the Spirit.
My your fireside be equally warm and welcoming, and may great stories be told…
That was what I spat out when one of my fellow retreatants passed on the news of the recent death of some of Gaddafi’s family– his son and three of his young grandsons.
On our return from the island, we learned too about the death of Osama Bin Laden– and the national rejoicing across the USA.
The contrast with the peace and tranquility that we had just experienced was palpable.
As if the final level of the game had now been successfully navigated. Time to put the controller down and go to bed. We can order Call of Duty 14 in the morning and start all over again.
We can take out some more towel heads tomorrow because it is not real- not real flesh and gristle we smeared on a whitewashed wall. Not real just-brushed baby teeth that we smashed in. Not real martyrs that we made.
It was all on a screen.
We have the power, and might is always right.
Here is a little quote from Brian McLaren that says it all-
Joyfully celebrating the killing of a killer who joyfully celebrated killing carries an irony that I hope will not be lost on us. Are we learning anything, or simply spinning harder in the cycle of violence?
Fantastic weekend!
The island was wonderful, very much exceeding my expectations. It was perhaps the smallest of our retreat destinations, but at the same time was packed full of delights-
Ancient monastic sites- church, beehive cells, a hermits cave.
Wildlife like you would not believe- otters, seabirds, seals, corncrakes. Nearby ospreys (seen on the return.) Also- a complete absence of ticks and midges!
Sun- three days with barely a cloud. Sure, it was windy, but mostly gloriously warm. Warm enough for diving into the sea for some of us!
We sat round fires, walked out meditations and laughed a lot.
It was wonderful.
Thanks to all of you that came along…
this fragile tent 