Have you ever needed someone to speak up for you? It could have been informally in a social setting or even in a family. Perhaps you’e needed it in a formal setting of a work tribunal or law court?
Unless an advocate will be listened to and cares enough to intervene on your behalf for a better outcome he or she is of little value to you.
When does life begin and when does it end? What is life? The answers to these fundamental questions present problems to ethicists, moralists, scientists, politicians and even Christians. Is the life of someone with a learning disability of any less value than a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize? Should someone in a coma have their life-support machine left turned on when there are few signs of life? Why do the majority of human beings cling to life but some want to abandon it? Is it still ‘life’ for a homeless person? An amputee? A person with a terminal illness? An elderly resident in a care home with dementia? The questions here get to the attitudes, values and beliefs that are at the core of your being. Have your thoughts shifted on abortion and euthanasia or do you have clear views on what is still ‘life’? A bowl of fruit such as this contains few answers but such ‘still life’ has inspired countless artists.
So much of what we see and hear in the world today is fake! Who can you believe in this the age of phishing, scams, hoaxes and deception? When is it safe to click on a hyperlink or to open an email attachment? What happened to the world where people generally mean what they say and where you can turn on your computer without fear of ransomware or the need for antivirus software? Since the dawn of time there have been half-truths, heists and frauds but it has infiltrated modern life at every level, aided, abetted and accelerated by technology. The wise person knows all that glitters is not gold but cannot always detect the counterfeit because it looks so genuine. Back in the day, old bank notes like these shown were held up to the light to distinguish the false from the real currency. Now it is more complicated, to the point that you can’t even be sure whether media news is true let alone the notes in your wallet, that is if you still use them.
Can you remember a time when you were ‘homesick’? The first time away from home, family and friends is never easy. There is a longing for familiar faces and places which steals upon you. One young man left home with big ideas and a bounce in his step to find new pals and the high life only to discover that what he had found was the low life and ‘fair-weather’ friends. Things got so bad that he had to take a job as a swineherd. As he watched them enjoying family life and friendships, in his poverty he realised that even the pigs had it better than him! Coming to his senses, his thoughts turned to home and he took those first vital steps albeit with trepidation.
Are you risk averse or a risk taker? Is either position right or wrong? The truth is that from dawn to dusk and from first breath to final gasp, we take risks and are encouraged to do so. Our parents encouraged us to take risks as we took those initial wobbly steps, holding our hands and then releasing us to walk by ourselves. Whilst it may be true to say ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’, everyone lives within what they deem to be acceptable risk levels. Whether it is in the genes or in a person’s experience of risks already taken and consequences received, our risk parameters become established. One person with a high risk tolerance may think of someone with a lower level as unnecessarily timid; conversely, the view would be of irresponsibility! Many people routinely took the risk to cross the famous limestone Azure Window on the island of Gozo, but on the 8th March 2017, this ancient arch crumbled into the sea.
Have you ever thought about the number of new beginnings you’ve made in your life so far? Your birth was the first but now start counting … new words, new school, new friends, new job, new home, new targets, new horizons and you haven’t finished yet! Each day is a new opportunity for a new start. There are those in life who relish the change that comes with a new beginning, others who prefer the safety of the familiar and some who avoid change at all costs. We are all so different. What about your approach to life? Are you an architect, starter, builder, project manager or a completer-finisher? These arbitrary terms provide lots of scope for cross-overs but it’s interesting for personal reflection as to how you interact with the world around you. Imagine God the Beginner of things with a blank canvas and then KABOOM … it’s the Genesis of all known things.
Some people still tie a knot in a handkerchief and most of us still write a list of some kind to help our memories. It might be an old photograph, the whiff of a familiar smell, the lines of a poem or the sound of an old tune and our memories can be triggered. They might just conjure up a face from the past, an event that happened, a past friendship or they could unlock a dam so that you are flooded with powerful emotions. Why do we remember and what value is there in remembering? How could a glass of wine and a bread roll have such profound significance for remembering? The simple Forget-me-not flowers provide the clue!
