The seeds and saplings of our Lives…

Last week my sister sent me a message asking me if I remembered when it was that we sat under the shade of a large Eucalyptus tree, in the patio of a local pub, in a small village in Wales. The village was where we spent four years of our childhood; the pub was run… Continue reading The seeds and saplings of our Lives…

These habits we fall into…

So the day before yesterday, I posted a poem that spoke to me. I opened a poetry book at random and found a beautiful piece that reflected how I feel about my relationship with God and which seemed appropriate to the feast of Pentecost. One of the lines in the poem "You provide the tenderness,… Continue reading These habits we fall into…

A Time for Alliances

This morning, which is the Christian festival of Pentecost...when the Apostles, Mary, and other followers of Jesus were gathered in a upper room and received the blessing of the Holy Spirit...I picked up a book that I'm fond of. It's called "Cuando llegas" (literal translation: "When you arrive") and it's a book of poetry by… Continue reading A Time for Alliances

This is my Truth, Tell me Yours…

“Are you religious?”.  It’s a question that I hear most often on the Camino than anywhere else. And much more often than “What do you do for a living?”.  Why?  Because what we do for a living is a factual subject, a safe subject, a coffee-shop-pub-and-bar subject.  Whereas whether or not you believe in God;… Continue reading This is my Truth, Tell me Yours…

Worth repeating…

Today is the day after Christmas, "Boxing Day" as it's called in the United Kingdom. It's a public holiday in that country and also in Cyprus, the country where I was born, because Cyprus was a British Colony, and it chose to retain that inherited holiday on independence day. I now live in Spain ,… Continue reading Worth repeating…

I’m going to tell you a story…

...it's entirely true. Not one single part of it is made up, elaborated, exaggerated or false. I always felt that it was an experience that was deeply personal, private and meant only for me. But the older I become, the more I wonder about such things. I wonder if we're meant to share everything that… Continue reading I’m going to tell you a story…

Where no-one is harried and nothing is forced…

As we move towards the end of the year, and the season of Advent, I've been reflecting on how this year began for me, when I spent 3 months living in (and taking care of) the home of a friend in the tiny village of Molinaseca on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. That settled… Continue reading Where no-one is harried and nothing is forced…

Why I go down to the river…

We're experiencing a heatwave in Spain at the moment, with record temperatures announced each day in the town where I'm currently living, and a 'record-record' reached yesterday, as we tipped over into the 40-degree-plus celsius realm. The mornings are still comparatively cool (in the low 20's) but, from 2pm onwards, the temperature gradually climbs, shutters… Continue reading Why I go down to the river…