“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller It was a remarkable experience to observe my heart on the echocardiographer’s screen. A tiny benefit of having a sudden onset of heart palpitations and the myriad of tests…Continue reading A Letter to My Heart
Category: Books
A very brief Introduction to Christian Fundamentalism
“There are few things more dangerous than inbred religious certainty.” – Bart D. Ehrman This is a REPOST of a blog I wrote a couple of years ago … most fitting at this time of Australian religious and political discussions! There is a danger in assuming that every Christian belief and practice that we adhere to…Continue reading A very brief Introduction to Christian Fundamentalism
The Shepherd’s Psalm
Whether you are a person of faith or not, it is highly likely that at some stage in your life, perhaps at a wedding, christening or funeral, you would have heard the famous Psalm 23: The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,…Continue reading The Shepherd’s Psalm
The Sacrament of Waiting
“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” – Jospeph Campbell – Traffic lights, coffee queues, airport security, hospitals … they have a common theme: waiting! And I am not very good at it. But these last 2 weeks, with a loved…Continue reading The Sacrament of Waiting
Life’s Most Ignored Partner: Death
“It is hard to have patience with people who say, ‘There is no death’ or ‘Death doesn’t matter.’ There is death. And whatever it is matters. And whatever happens has consequences, and it and they are irrevocable and irreversible. You might as well say that birth doesn’t matter.” – C.S. Lewis – My sprightly father…Continue reading Life’s Most Ignored Partner: Death
New Streets and Old Maps
“Not all those who wander are lost …” – Bilbo Baggins In the 1990’s nearly every car in Melbourne still had an often mangled, coffee-stained Melway in the back seat. In the ‘good old days’ we did not have any fancy satellite navigation systems that talk to you in that annoying, patronising voice (you can…Continue reading New Streets and Old Maps
Autumn: A Time to See More Clearly
“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
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
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!