I never saw a moor, I never saw the sea; Yet know I how the heather looks, And what a wave must be. I never spoke with God, Nor visited in heaven; Yet certain am I of the spot As if the chart were given.
Authority
No preacher No professor No policeman Nor police state No prince No president No prime minister Nor pope No general No journalist No expert Nor idol I know No authority But God. Stilled England, 24th March 2020.
In the end, we win
"Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise", He said. Perhaps this is why I feel such elation today. Offices stand empty, trading wanes. Footsteps instead tread parks and meadows, the soft green cushion of spring's beginnings making space around hardened hearts. The air is filled with electrical fizz, an effervescence tracing this essential collapse. I am full to the brim with hope, captivated by a rare glow of certainty: in the end, we win. Spring equinox, Somerset, England.
I asked for strength
I asked God for strength that I might achieve. I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked for health, that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches, that I might be happy. I was given poverty, that I might be wise. I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life. I was given life, that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for - but everything I had hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am, among all men, most richly blessed. Prayer of an unknown confederate soldier (1861-3)
There is no fear in love
Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.
1 John 17-19
Mendelssohn’s eightfold path
The good and the beautiful are always with us, no matter how upside down and unpleasant the external human theatrics may seem right now. Spring is arriving, the daffodils are radiant and this piece of music fills my whole being with such bliss. The freshness and hope of a 16 year old composer beams infectiously from these sounds. Joy, youthfulness and freedom are embodied here in just over 30 minutes. It is a most beautiful antidote to the current atmosphere.
God be in my head
God be in my head And in my understanding; God be in myne eyes, And in my looking; God be in my mouth And in my speaking; God be in my heart, And in my thynking; God be at my end, And at my departing. The Sarum Missal (11th century English origin)
Being a walking question mark 