The bloom of youth is a lovely thing to see but what about when it begins to fade? All living beings are touched by the passing of time – the petals will fall, the energy will get less and the wrinkles will come.
We tend to get into denial with fitness regimes, special diets, vitamin supplements and more expensive toys. Apparently the new 30 is 40 and 60 has become 70!
Sometimes it’s hard to know if you are coming or going – perhaps it’s both! Maybe it’s tough to know the difference because it’s a confused and confusing world that doesn’t deal well with endings and isn’t sure when a beginning has occurred. When have you arrived? Where are you going? We do not know what is coming with the certainty we all crave. What do you hope or think might be coming? Advent is a term linked to adventure in that it is ‘towards a venture’. In that sense, it hints of risk, excitement and some uncertainty but taken for itself, it simply means ‘the arrival of a notable person or thing’. You could say that the sun rising at dawn heralds a daily advent and so life is one continuous series of advents as preludes to the final adventure. Could you accept life as a series of beginnings rather than a series of endings? So here’s a light to reflect on that idea.
If you take a long look at this lamb, you will find yourself thinking all sorts of things. You might be struck by its innocence, its powerlessness or you may wonder about its future. This lamb has not done anything wrong, it has no defences or weapon and it may end up on someone’s plate as a favoured dish before it ever gets to be a mature sheep. Does it not strike you as extraordinary that the Most Mighty One to walk this planet Earth was called ‘The Lamb of God’? This lamb is associated with meekness not with majesty, with the Will of man rather than the Will of God. To understand why Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is called ‘The Lamb of God’ it’s necessary to consult both the Old Testament and the New – once truly understood never truly forgotten. Why a lamb rather than a sheep? A sheep is reared for its wool but a tender lamb gives its life.
What would life be without change? Yet not all change is progress nor is change the only constant as some believe. There are various ways to react to change – embrace and seek it; run and hide from it; deny that it’s happening. Park yourself for a year under a Horse Chestnut tree and you will not be able to escape the fact of change! Each season will come and go – even if you do not accept it, you will be unable to deny the leaves have come and gone. If you are far into denial, the falling conkers may bring you to your senses! Change in the form of the Leaf Miner Moth is now threatening the survival of these trees which can live for 300 years. So yes, for good or ill, change is part of the richness of this life but the way to face it is neither to run from it nor to seek it for mere entertainment – there needs to be a constant foundation to stand upon to come through every possible change that can come in life. If you are not already standing on that Rock, best advice is to look at the leaves changing and find it.
This little guy represents all of us – he knows he’s been found out, it’s weighing heavy on him and he’s pleading for mercy! Which way will those scales weigh – mercy or justice? How do they weigh for you?
‘“My friend” resumed the Bishop, “before you go, here are your candlesticks. Take them.”… Jean Valjean was trembling in every limb. He took the two candlesticks mechanically, and with a bewildered air. “Now,” said the Bishop, “go in peace.
This is not a beauty product advert – it is somewhat less superficial! Most of us want to be pure and know that we are meant to be pure, but what does it mean to be pure? The simplest dictionary definition gives this: ‘not mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material’, stating that it can be applied to matter, colour, sound and morality. For the child of God, the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.
‘God is looking for clean hands and a pure heart’ – Monica Johnson
Who do you think said this – ‘When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves’? They were some inspired words from Buddha.
What does JOY mean to you? Is it to do with purity and the beauty of a summer’s day with no cloud in the sky?
‘Joy in looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift’’– words of another wise man … Albert Einstein. How are you doing with ‘nature’s most beautiful gift’?! Does joy mean something more to you? No clouds in the sky sounds a good start – if matched by a clear mind, purity and no shadows then the day is full of promise.
