Spirals: the Koru and the Wonders of Nature

Many, many moons ago I was introduced to the Maori symbol of the koru.  A koru, (Maori for loop),  is, according to Wikipedia,” a spiral shape based on the shape of a new unfurling silver fern frond and symbolizing new life, growth, strength and peace.”  Such principals are part and parcel of my belief system, so having something so beautiful to symbolize them suits me very well.

Spirals occur frequently in the natural world – David Attenborough recently presented a TV program about that.

Yesterday, I saw this lovely piece in a neighbourhood shop which sells the work of local craftspeople.  I ummed and ahhed about buying it, but decided to sleep on it and left the shop.  I’d not been back home long before I received a telephone call from my lovely sister asking if I had any idea what I’d like for my birthday…. well, numerically challenged as I am, even I can add up one and one and make two – so hey presto, this beautiful necklace is now my new ‘koru.’  You can’t really see from the photo, but there are sparkly highlights on some of the lines.  When I went in to the shop this morning I discovered that the person who was ‘on duty’ in the shop was actually the craftsperson who made it and she was pleased that I was so delighted with it.

 

Happy New Year

September Already???

I don’t know what it is about getting older, but it does seem that the more birthdays one has, the speedier time passes.  Billy Conelly reckons you can sum it up as, “Should auld aquaintance be forgot.. Happy Birthday to you… We wish you a Merry Christmas…” and I agree!  So, autumn’s already making itself felt around here as the temperature has dropped and the Football season’s started. Whilst it seems to me that the summer was way too short, I do love autumn and I’m looking forward to the changing colours – our neck of the woods is very beautiful at this time of year.

One of my neighbours seems to have discovered the Green Man, want to see?

Isn’t he amazing?  He gave me quite a turn the first time I saw him.  He waits across the road from steps that lead up from my main place of work and he appeared just a short while ago.  He seems friendly enough though.

Audio Sermon – Testing, Testing…

I’m trying out audio files on my work blog so I thought I’d see how some of the sharing stuff works…

Audio Sermon – Testing, Testing….

The Angel’s Share

Last evening I went along to a (fairly) local cinema to see Ken Loach‘s latest film, The Angel’s Share. It’s WONDERFUL! If you get the chance go and see it.  I promise you’re in for an intelligent, life-affirming, warm, funny, hope-filled, movie experience.  The screen play is written by Paul Laverty, who has collaborated with Ken Loach on several films.  This film, likened by some to a modern, more gritty, ‘Whiskey Galore,’ tells the story of Robbie, Rhino, Albert and Mo; four young people thrown together by their respective court- sentenced Community Pay-Back.  Robbie, described  as a ‘wee thug’ is a young man whose life has been marked by poverty and deprivation.  We learn from his court advocate that Robbie has already served time for committing a violent assault, but that in the ten months since his release he has endeavoured to change his behaviour and that he now has a long-term partner, Leonie who is about to give birth to their first child.  His recent relapse, which has brought him back to court is part of  a life-time’s feud with a neighbouring family.  The judge decides to give Robbie another chance and so, instead of the five years’ incarceration he may have expected, Robbie gets 300 hours Community Payback.  Robbie vows to be the best Dad and partner he can be – but it seems that circumstances  decree that once a ‘wee thug’ all you can ever be is a’wee thug.’  The film then charts Robbie, (and his companions’), as he sets out to seek the Holy Grail of a real job and a new life, in which he can become the man he seeks to be.  The trailer to the film tells us, ‘to make a change, you need a chance,’ and through the film we see the changes and chances offered on the way.  There is Harry, an angel in human form who offers Robbie friendship and the chance to believe that things can be different.  It is Harry too, who introduces Robbie to whiskey and the craft involved in making it, that provides him with the catalyst to a new life.  Later on we, briefly, meet Grace who offers Robbie and Leonie her home for six months, (while she’s away in London), a chance to move from their own neighbourhood – described by Leonie’s Dad as, “no place to bring up a ******* wain.”  (Yup, the language is very, very earthy).  When they ask her why she’s being so generous Grace replies, “Someone once gave me a chance, and it changed my life.”  In the event, Robbie doesn’t get to take up her offer because the rival gang he’s had so much trouble with have followed him there.  It seems that even when offered a chance, he won’t be allowed to take it.

Robbie, despite everything still hopes.  He has seen in some of the people around him that there may still be another way.  Harry’s interest whiskey tasting has awakened Robbie’s senses of smell and taste and he finds that he is a ‘natural’ when it comes to discerning whiskey.  This newly found talent becomes the way to make the biggest change of all.  I’m not going to give any more of the plot away – because really you need to go and see for yourself – it’ll be worth it.  I will tell you though, that the ‘Angel’s Share’ is the term used in whiskey making, that is used to describe the 2% of whiskey that evaporates each year in the cask, as the whiskey ages.

In many ways this film could have turned out to be acutely depressing.  It is a mark of the Laverty/Loach collaboration that is actually life-affirming and funny. Much of it seems more like documentary than fiction – something Ken Loach is known for.  Set in Glasgow, it doesn’t try to hide the fact that there are few jobs; violence is a way of life for many and youngsters left with little or no hope turn readily to drugs and alcohol to ease the pain.  However, the stereotypes are brushed aside and Paul Laverty’s young people are given much more rounded and complicated treatment.  For one thing, they’re often funny.  Albert, in particular, is hilarious.  His drunken antics at the edge of a railway platform in the opening scene had the cinema laughing out loud! Added to that the characters show vulnerability, compassion and love and together, a great camaraderie. For me, the major theme in this film is redemption, the chance of a new life, like a slave whose freedom has been purchased.  Last Sunday I was talking to a group of people about this theme, which is one of the central tenets of Christianity.  Jesus Christ, acting as our kinsman, pays the price and allows us to be taken out of the market place to be free men and women – no longer enslaved to the powers of this world which would have us believe that we can never be more than a ‘wee thug.’  I don’t know if Laverty or Loach are people of faith, (if not, I’m genuinely surprised),   but another strong theme is the one of love that plays all the way through.  It’s Robbie’s love for Leonie and his little son, Luke that spur him on to become more than he thought he would be; and it’s the love he finds in Harry and the gang that support him as he continues to strive for his goal.

The hard truth is though, even as I relish in this delight of a film, today there will be young men and women living Robbie’s life in Glasgow and all over the world, who will never have the chance to make the changes Robbie does.  Robbie is played by Paul Brannigan, a young man whose own life shares many similarities with Robbie’s.  He, too, decided to seek a better life for himself when he became father to his son, Leon. He is, though, every bit as exceptional as the character he plays on screen.  I think of some of the young people I know who live on a housing estate with few services and fewer resources.  Why do we allow this separation amongst people?  Why do some have more than enough, whilst others have so little?  Why do some young people enjoy loving homes, a good education, nutritious food whilst others are faced with violence, poor standards of schooling and a diet of cheap take away food?  Why do we accept that this is the way it has to be?

This film is a challenge to all who believe that EVERY human life is important and that EVERYONE deserves a chance.  ‘Nuff said – Amen!

Who’s the Most Famous Person You’ve Ever Met?

Greetings y’all!  It seems ages since I checked in – and I suppose it is.  Anyway, I have been tasked with writing a piece for the local newspaper and decided that I’d share it here:

Many years ago, in another life, I worked in a theatre Box Office.  During my time there I met some very well-known, (dare I say it?), famous creative people.  You’ll be pleased to know that I’m not going to burden you with a whole host of name dropping, but suffice it to say I can lay claim to having stepped on the tail of one of Harry Potter’s darker teachers and that one of the film world’s brightest stars played a practical joke on me, when he was a student at the Theatre School.  Other than that, my lips are sealed.

I was thinking of this time recently when someone asked me who is the most famous person you ever met?Hmmn, not sure why the ‘famous’ bit is important, but I’ll give it a go, or so I thought.

It’s hard to differentiate when you have such an august back catalogue, so I decided instead to mention the most famous person I’ve met who has had an impact on my life and thinking, and that is Sr. Helen Prejean. Yes, I have met her – at a conference in London. Now Sr Helen is no film star; she doesn’t wear the latest designer fashion or show up in the tabloids on a regular basis.  I’m sure the order to which she belongs would have something to say about that if she did.

This is what she looks like:

In case the name eludes you, Sr Helen is a nun and she wrote the book, “Dead Man Walking,” which led to the film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn.  Sr Helen has spent many years campaigning against the death penalty in her native Louisiana.  Her assertion is every human being is worth more ‘than the worst thing they’ve done.’ She has journeyed alongside some of the most disturbed and violent men on Angola’s, (the big prison in Louisiana), Death Row, and her work has led her into many difficult situations that would, undoubtedly have stalled a less tenacious person.  However, another of Sr. Helen’s sayings is that “When you follow Jesus Christ, then controversy will follow you ‘round like a hungry dog.” And that is something I can personally attest to – although I’ve never been faced with the viciousness that she has.   Sr. Helen is not the most glamorous or even famous person I’ve met, but her life and words have informed my own life in a way that no one else has. One, interesting thing, at least interesting to me, is that when I was working at the Open Door Community in Atlanta, GA, I discovered that Sr. Helen had actually written some of her book there.  It seems we have friends in common too.

P.S.

Well, what a coincidence!  I hear from my daughter that the UN has been investigating life amongst the Native tribes in the USA and has some damning things to say.  The article is here.

Wise Words

As I  continued my work on ‘connection’ for this week, I turned for inspiration to one of the great figures of the past, Chief Seattle.  The First Nations People of the Americas have had a tremendous impact on my own thinking and formation.  I rarely write or talk about it, since it’s an annomolous aspect of my life, given that I was born into a Welsh family a few thousand miles and a century away from Chief Seattle.  I don’t have a romantic view of Native Americans – although I probably did in the past.  When I was a child I always chose to play the Indian, rather than the cowboy, because I saw them as wise, nature-loving and ‘whole’ people. That was then.  I have a great respect for the wisdom that comes from a life on the Plains; and for the understanding that comes from living in and amongst the natural world – as opposed to concreting it over and trying to tame it.  But the First Nations People are not some historical entity.  They too, have to make their way in the 21st Century. It’s not been easy. In every way possible, Native Americans have been betrayed, exploited and disenfranchised by ‘The Whites.’  Have a look at these statisitics from just one reservation, (Pine Ridge):

97% of of the population at Pine Ridge Reservation live below federal poverty line.

* The unemployment rate vacillates from 85% to 95% on the Reservation.

* Death due to Heart Disease: Twice the national average.

* The infant mortality rate is the highest on this continent and is about 300% higher than the U.S. national average.

* Elderly die each winter from hypothermia (freezing).

* Recent reports point out that the median income on the Pine Ridge Reservation is approximately $2,600 to $3,500 per year.

* At least 60% of the homes are severely substandard, without water, electricity, adequate insulation, and sewage systems.

* Recent reports state the average life expectancy is 45 years old while others state that it is 48 years old for men and 52 years old for women. With either set of figures, that’s the shortest life expectancy for any community in the Western Hemisphere outside Haiti, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In the richest country in the world you can find some of the poorest people in the world.

One of my ‘virtual’ friends, (at least, friend is  how I think of her), is Margaret.  Her blog is here. Margaret is an Episcopalian Priest living and working amongst the Lakota on the Eagle Butte Reservation and her stories of life and faith at the sharp end are well worth a visit. Vulnerbility and authenticity, (which seem to have been my words for the past week), are very much part of the Kingdom Culture she, (and I, through her blog), experiences.

I’m going to use some of this thinking in my work tomorrow and we shall be listening to Chief Seattle’s words for today echooing from the past, (1854).  Here’s a version you might like to see:

Thought For the Weekend

A telephone call earlier this morning alterted me to the fact that I had forgotten to send in my contribution to a local newspaper’s, Thought For the Weekend’ column.  In fact, I hadn’t just forgotten to send it, I’d forgotten to write it – HELP!  Not to worry though, I managed to rattle something off, based on yesterday’s posts, but I thought I’d post it here anyway.

 

Get Real!

Getting ‘real’ is a daily challenge for most of us.  The last few years has seen quite an increase in so-called reality TV; programs using real people to tell real stories.  Well, not quite.  The latest edition in this long line of reality productions is, ‘Made in Chelsea,’ described as, ‘a scripted reality show.’ What on earth is that? Virtual reality perhaps?  I wonder how real that can be.  Many of us spend a fair amount of our time these days negotiating our way through a virtual reality.  We have our usual lives, of course, during which we interact with family and friends and generally dealing with the messiness of human life and relationships.  As well as that though, we now have the opportunity to live in a virtual reality.  We can go online and, using our various screen names, avatars and other internet and technological devices, become whoever we choose to be.  We get to try on different personas, share our ideas, and invent identities for ourselves. I will say, here and now, that I am a big fan of the internet.  In many ways it makes my life easier.  It enables me to share my thoughts and ideas with the world, in a way I would probably never be able to do, if it were not for my computer. It does come at a cost though.  How real is it?  Whatever I decide to publish is entirely in my control.  I get to edit and delete. I get to choose how I appear on line and it may or may not be the real me.  The other challenge is the amount of time we spend in these virtual realities against the time we spend in the real world.  I don’t just mean being physically present, but actually engaging with our hearts and minds with those around us.  How many times have you seen a group of people, ostensibily out together, all texting or chatting away to someone other than their companions? We’ve never been so connected to each other and yet so lonely at the same time.  We can’t make real connections, based on virtual presence.  Human relationships are sometimes messy and difficult, but they are necessary to us. We need to feel loved and wanted. However popular we are in our virtual space, it will never make up for real life.

Connections

For the past couple of weeks my work has led me to consider issues of inclusion/exclusion and connection/disconnection.  During this time I have discovered the work of Brene Brown, who is a researcher in social work.  Her video on ‘vulnerabilty’ is over on my work blog and is well worth the look if you’ve got a spare 20 minutes or so. I’ve also been reading her books, “I Thought It Was Just Me – but it isn’t;” and “The Gifts of Inperfection.”  Brene has spent the past twelve years researching the somewhat unpopular subject of ‘shame,’ something from which we all suffer, yet are reluctant to talk about.  Brene’s books encourage us to practice ‘shame resistance,’ in order to be able to live our lives to the full. The main weapon in the shame resistance army is empathy.  Apparently, if one could put ‘shame’ into a petrie dish the necessary growth media are silence, judgement and ridicule.  If you want ‘shame’ to disappear though, you just add empathy.  Of course, it’s not as simple as it sounds, (what on earth is)? Firstly, you have to have a sound grasp on what empathy actually is.  It’s not just sympathy and it’s not, as I’ve often thought of, ‘putting oneself in another’s place.’  Empathy goes further – it’s trying to see the situation through the eyes and feelings of the other person; so, not imagining how you might feel in any given situation, but how the other might feel in any given situation.  If more of us were able to practice empathy we would be doing ourselves and each other a great favour.  Brene’s insights are very thought-provoking and I’m still working with them.  Her assertion is that we need to be kinder to ourselves to begin with, because only by practising this kindness to our ourselves can we transfer this skill to our empathy for others.

Our connection to one another is at the core of this working of course.  As Brene puts it, “We are hard-wired for connection.” Too many things stop us from developing authentic relationships with one another and that brings me on to the other interesting video I’ve discovered, a message from Sherry Turkle. Sherry’s recent work has focussed on the way we are forsaking genuine connection for connections in the ‘virtual’ worlds of the internet and technology.  I’d be interested to know what you think about  these issues, so feel free to comment below.  In the meantime, this is Sherry’s message, so you can see for yourself.