Ecology for the Soul

I have been sorting out my office and found this little gem in a file. I must have kept it for some reason…. maybe it was a reminder for myself, or to give someone. I can’t remember. But I like the title …Ecology for the soul

What will it matter?

Ready or not, someday it will all come to an end

There will be no more sunrises,

No minutes, hours or days.

All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten,

will pass to someone else

Your wealth, fame and temporal power,

will shrivel to irrelevance

It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.

Your grudges, resentments and frustrations

will finally disappear

So to your hopes, ambitions and plans to do

will expire.

The wins and losses that once seemed so important

will fade away

It won’t matter where you came from

Or what side of the fence you lived at the end

It won’t matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant

Even your gender and skin colour will be irrelevant.

SO WHAT WILL MATTER?……How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought…

but what you built

Not what you got……

but what you gave

What will matter is not your success……

but your significance

What will matter is not what you learned…

but what you taught

What will matter is not your competence …

but your character

What will matter is not how many people you knew…

but how many will feel a lasting loss when you are gone

What will matter is not your memories …

but the memories that lie in those who love you

What will matter is how long you will be remembered,

by whom and for what

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others, to emulate your example

Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident

It is not a matter of circumstance…..but by choice

So choose to live a life that matters

Author Michael Josephson, by permission of the Josephson Institute of Ethics( 2006)

Prayer

God in whom I live and move and have my being,

Help me to see the world through your eyes.

Not to be focussed on self,

but on you

Not to be focused on how others see me

But if I am focused on what you would me to do

Not to think … what can they do for me

But what I can do for them

Bless me with your Abundant Spirit

So I may tread softly on the earth

And preserve what you have made.

Amen

A song from the Secret Garden

I love finding new pieces of music for personal reflection and possibly for worship , and this music ‘ A song from the Secret Garden… . was written by Rolf Lovland, a Norwegian pianist and composer who is also one half of and Irish /Norwegian duo called Secret Garden . I think the violinist Alexander Rybak plays this piece with such sensitivity and passion. If he looks familiar… he was the Norwegian winner of the Euro vision Song Contest 2009 .!!

It is a soaring Spiritual piece which takes me to a place of peace. Enjoy

Difficult relationships

Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6: 31

Relationships !!…..my they can be difficult … but not all of them are thank goodness!!.

However, there was a young girl during my time at senior school, who made my life a misery. At any and every opportunity, she would humiliate and verbally abuse anyone unfortunate enough to cross her path. She was a bully, and like many others, I lived in fear of her approaching me. One day, about 10 yrs after I left school, I saw her make a beeline over to me. I was nursing by this time, but you can imagine how I felt … petrified and sick in my stomach !! My mouth became dry and my hands clammy the closer she came towards me. Then she greeted me with a smile, clasped hold of my hand and started to apologise for her behaviour at school. I was convinced that this sudden friendliness was just a front to conceal a plan. But it wasn’t…. it was real. And even when she was friendly towards me I still flinched and became suspicious of her intentions.

Love your enemies?

It’s hard enough, even when they extend the hand of friendship. To love those who continue to hurt us – its asking a lot isn’t it ?

Yet that is the way of Christ…….. It does not mean liking them, but it means ready to forgive…..,

to put the past behind and to start with a clean slate….

to meet rejection with acceptance,

to wish good rather than evil

Can you do that?… I i know i find it difficult, but I am sure I should.

One look at the world with all its tensions and conflicts and divisions and prejudices ….give us a bleak picture of the alternative.

Prayer

Forgiving God

You ask us to turn the cheek,

to love our enemies,