“I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something I can do.”

Edward Everett Hale

Thursday 26 July 2018

View from the Hill

For the last two days, I have been on an individual guided retreat at Holland House. The poem below was written while I was there ...


“You yourself are what you are seeking”.
A living manifestation of God – She is in all things.
God is in me – I am made in His image –
perfect and complete.
The whole universe is sacred.

Outside my window, a butterfly
browses among the sun-warmed flowers.
She too is a manifestation
of the Divine in creation.
But she regrets not the past,
nor has any care for the future,
She just does her thing,
flitting from flower to flower,
gaining sustenance for her present need.
Because of her, they will germinate
and seed – giving life to a new generation.
All of creation is interdependent.



It is only we, in our human arrogance,
who try to live outside this flow of life,
between God and the rest of creation.
The wise among us will “go with the flow”,
living in present awareness
of our part in the Circle of Life.

We could learn from the animals.
A dog, out for a walk with his master,
is only aware of present pleasures:
the feel of the earth under his paws;
the sights and smells and sounds
around him, and his perfect contentment
in spending time with the one he loves.
If the man is wise, his sensations
will be the same. But probably,
he will be “walking sightless among miracles”,
his mind on other matters.

God is manifest in the world
and in ourselves. If we pay attention,
How could we not love Him
“with all our hearts, souls, mind and strength”?
Wake up and smell the roses!

Thursday 19 July 2018

The Visit That Wasn't

Months ago, I and my fellow Midlands ministers decided to spend a day at Coventry Cathedral as our July "meeting". We settled on 18th July, and duly met at 10.30 am at The Great Meeting House Unitarian Church in Coventry, to park our cars, and walk to the Cathedral.



But when we got there, the area outside was full of young people and their parents, the former in caps and gowns, and the latter in their "Sunday best". Yes, we had chosen the day when young graduands of Coventry University were becoming graduates. And the ceremony was in the Cathedral. Oh. I had checked the website a few weeks earlier, and no mention of this event.

So we adjourned to the Herbert Museum & Art Gallery for coffee, and to have a discussion about what to do instead. To my surprise, five of the seven of us, including my husband, decided they'd like to go to Coventry Transport Museum, which left my friend and I free to book-shop to our heart's content.

We spent more than an hour in the Cathedral bookshop, which had many wonderful second-hand theological and spiritual books at very reasonable prices, and came away loaded down with books.

When we joined back up with the rest of the party, it was clear that a good time had been had by all. It was not the day we had planned, but we had refused to let this spoil things, but had happily decided to make the best of it, and enjoy the day anyway. There were no recriminations, and no heart-burning, just a willingness to make alternative plans, and have a good day. We will visit the Cathedral another time.