The Ripple Effect of a Blessing We often think of our words as small, fleeting things, but they are actually the overflow of our inner lives. When our hearts are filled with God’s peace, our words become a refreshing stream for everyone we encounter. Today, we’re looking at the weight of our words; how to […]
It is unlikely that any of us remember our first steps as we learnt how to walk. No doubt it caused excitement for your parents until they realised that it would now be harder to keep track of you. As we develop this important life skill, there’s plenty of reverting to crawling or bottom shuffling […]
Are you a ‘smile, high-five or a wave’ person? What’s your preference for written greetings and sign-offs: Hi, Dear, Hey, Yours Sincerely, Best Wishes, Kind Regards? No doubt it depends on the person you’re contacting and the context. You can seldom be sure these days due to the many communication options whether there will be any top or tail let alone some abbreviation you don’t understand. The old order of things has gone out of the window with spelling and handwriting becoming ever more unpredictable. This is true also of the forms of physical greeting – no longer a reliable handshake in the West or nose rubbing in New Zealand. During Lockdown, we saw the arrival of fist salutes and elbow bumps. Greeting cards may still be big business but nothing quite matches a card received that a person has actually bothered to make for you. Do you still like to send and receive them? Perhaps this Booster has been sent to you as a greeting – if so, congratulations or commiserations as appropriate!
When it comes to boundaries, love them or loathe them, we all have them albeit at different levels. They exist all around us, helping to define us and shape how we interact within the world we live. They can be physical, spiritual, moral and intellectual. Some will say that they refuse to be limited by them and will press through to achievements we can admire – perhaps artists, explorers, inventers and athletes. Others, believing themselves to be ‘free-thinkers’, might refuse to acknowledge legal and moral boundaries and are far from admirable role models. Yet whether you call them boundaries, parameters, boarders, safety nets or limitations, we need them and rely on them. Without them, it becomes a virtual world where nothing is real and everything is real, a world of fantasy. How aware are you of your personal boundaries and how have they changed over time? These white cliffs look pretty fixed but even they have moved over time. Time itself is a boundary for every human being.
There are subtle nuances in meanings between some words – take kindness, mercy and compassion for example. If someone sends you some flowers, it could mean they love you, they are sending condolences or they are appreciating you. This thoughtful act may have traces of mercy and compassion but it is primarily a friendly, generous and considerate action of kindness. Think back to when you last received some flowers or indeed sent some – what was the impact other than the giving or receiving of happiness? It is said that ‘what goes round comes round’ – if this is true, then there is a ‘kindness circle’ in life which is loved and respected the world over. Was Nellie Bly right when she said: ‘It is only after one is in trouble that one realizes how little sympathy and kindness there are in the world’? Surely ‘the milk of human kindness is more prevalent?
What do you see as you look around you – blessings or curses? Is that glass half empty or half full? Do you recall the old song with the line, ‘Count your blessings name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done’? Blessings look like family, peace, flowers, bees, butterflies, people, food, freedom, life, breath, health and of course those wonderful fresh tomatoes – we all have many of these and some have all of them. We start with nothing and then God just keeps pressing blessings into lives.
