creating change without shouting
We bless this year for all we have learned,For all we loved and lostAnd for the quiet way it brought usNearer to our invisible destination. + John O’Donohue Time has taken us by the hand and led us along many strange paths. Ways we had not expected to walk. People we never thought we’d meet. … Read more
Days when beloved faces shone brighterWith light from beyond themselves;And from the granite of some secret sorrowA stream of buried tears loosened. The penultimate verse of John O’Donohue’s blessing At the end of the year conjures up a sea of beautiful faces for me. The many, many people who have been part of my year, … Read more
Endings are also the time to own the shadows, the challenging situations we have faced during the year. These dark places we had to walk through because there was no other way. Those losses that took a part of us with them. They can’t be replaced, but they do need to be named. This is … Read more
We had just finished dismantling the large round bale of sweet-smelling hay, moving it armful by armful through the narrow passage into the hay store. The alpacas were thrilled to be clearing up after us, yet it was still grey Welsh dismal damp. And then – the sun shone – for the first time in … Read more
Endings don’t always have to be the ambush we fear – the things taken from us without our consent. So as we approach the end of this year, how might we prepare ourselves for the possibilities of the next? And open our senses with gratitude to the natural passing of time? Perhaps by walking with … Read more
The best gift you can receive is life and knowing you are loved. And the best gift you can give is yourself, expressed through your heart. May we unwrap both this day.