And since I am already over the edge, why don’t we add having no running water into the joyful blend of Solstice cheer and Christmas preparations? Yes, why not?

Solstice thoughts (where everything is either horrendous or hilarious depending on your POV)

Saying Nothing is an Option
Before I go any further, I should point out that, utterly bereft of any qualification to comment on the complex geopolitics of the region, my ‘opinion’ is that war – any war – is an appalling offense to our humanity.

The Day When Things Can Start
Imbolc sends impulses to my dormant winter cells throughout January, simultaneously poking me to wake up…and urging me to wait. My yearly last-minute tax return – filed just in time for the Jan 31st deadline – shouldn’t be a surprise by now. Nor should it be a source of personal beratement. If I was a conspiracy theorist (and I am not) I might imagine it to be some sort of test: who can override their internal body clock enough to ‘succeed’ in the system?

Does this mean I am not a failure…?
A while ago, I joked online about feeling a failure because I don’t ( and won’t) go cold water swimming, and I don’t have a Podcast. I rather consigned these – along with the trends of ‘radical self-care and the ‘digital detox’ – to the ‘things I don’t do – let’s leave that to the influencers’ corner. Meanwhile, I focused on being consistent in at least one thing – my utter lack of self- promotion.

Themes Biblical, Compassion and Zero Tolerance
I am lying, awake, irritated by the sound of the neighbour’s central heating exhaust and worrisome thoughts about the ‘biosecurity’ of our ducks’ pen. (As if things weren’t bad enough, …

The Magi and the ‘bad’ year
Today is Epiphany, The date when Christians in the Western Church celebrate the arrival of the Magi, and with them the manifestation and revelation of The Christ – the Light …

‘Twas The Night Before Christmas (or Love is All Around)
It’s nearly 3 am on Christmas Eve, and for reasons known only to my hormones and neurology, I am wide awake and listening to the sound of decidedly un-Christmassy wind …

How To Pray (if you don’t pray) #2
In my last post I spoke about prayer, and what it is and what it means and what it might look like. I wanted to follow this up with some …

How to Pray (if you don’t pray) #1
“If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is ‘thank you’ that would suffice.”– Meister Eckhart I used to have an uneasy relationship with prayer. My introduction to …

Next…
I have spent the past week on holiday (sort of) In truth I never really switch off. In recent months, I have started a new Masters course, submitted a book …