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What makes us feel alive

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My photo, April 2015 I love early spring, this time in early March when most trees are still leafless but the buds and catkins are starting to appear on the branches and suddenly there’s an explosion of delicate blossom everywhere, lacy clouds of pink and white, blackthorn and prunus. I love the purple and white and gold carpets of crocuses, the golden bells of the daffodils, the first primroses. I love how alive spring makes me feel. This morning I happened to come across this post, ‘Navigating by Aliveness’, on Oliver Burkeman’s blog The Imperfectionist. https://ckarchive.com/b/zlughnhk8772ma7qrr9qehwzgng00f6 In this post, Burkeman is writing about the huge threat of AI to human creativity, and I am struck by how he defines the concept of ‘aliveness’: 'The concept that sits right at the heart of a sane and meaningful life … is something like aliveness. It goes by other names, too, none of which quite nail it – but it’s the one thing that, so long as you navigate by it, y...
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Lessons from footballers

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                                                                                                                                                                                  Picture Credit: BBC I thought I had more time to write this post. A month with twenty-eight days tricked my brain into thinking the 5 th of March was further away. Now that I think about it, my mind regularly plays that trick on me... there’s plenty o...
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A box full of Inspiration

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  As I start to write my blog, I am amazed that it is March already.    It didn’t seem long ago that I started putting into action my list of ‘New Year’s Resolutions’.    I have totally forgotten what they all were, but I do remember thinking that I needed to make some changes, for the better, and that they only seemed to last for a couple of days, at the beginning of January. Life is so busy for everyone, and I really need to get motivated with my writing. I know what I need to do, but there always seems to be something, everyday, that we have to do and I am not getting enough time to myself. People tell me to put aside specific times, but when I do, something happens which almost always needs my full attention, usually in person. I was recently going through some boxes that I had packed up when I moved house almost two years ago.    Again, something I have been meaning to do, and I came across lots of things from my past; Letters and cards, photograp...
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Roots and Wings

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  The phrase Roots and Wings is a metaphor which typically describes achieving a balance between stability and independence in child rearing. Roots provide the sense of belonging, of safety and a nurturing foundation. Wings suggest ability to soar, to take risks, to find one's feet in the world.  For us as Christians, roots are what ground us in our faith and how we view the world. The values these inspire are part of what we carry with us as like young chicks, we fly the "nest" seeking to make our mark and achieve our ambitions.  As Christian writers these foundations are even more important because regardless of age or social status we all of us share this common ground as well as putting down more familiar roots when we marry, have children and see the next generation move on. Picture Credit: Art by Cedar Lee When it comes to putting down strong roots I am reminded of the Parable of the Sower from the synoptic gospels. For example Luke 8: 4-8 and 11-15 illustrates the ...
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Encouraging Voices in Lent by Elaine Langford

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  In my February post, Seasons of Transition , I looked towards Lent . Ten days into Lent, how’s it going for you? Do you need some encouragement? Those who have followed my posts from the start will know I’ve struggled to find my writing voice over the last two years. I’ve mentioned that, at times, I’ve even felt as if I’ve been silenced. In that time, a different, small but accusing, voice occasionally niggled inside, ‘What if God didn’t want me to speak? What if he doesn’t want me to write poetry?’. Despite this fear rumbling inside, I knew it wasn’t true. God had blessed my writing in the past. I still felt poetry and other writing had a place in my pilgrimage with God. I just needed time to take a break and refocus on what to do and what to set aside. I decided to take a new approach to Lent this year. Usually I bumble my way through using various Lent word prompts to write or link to an image. By Easter, I often wish I had spent more time looking at themes of Lent and...
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Getting Disentangled, by Jane Lynch

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Photo from Wikimedia Commons Are you entangled in things God never intended for you to do? How do you discern His best will for your life? It’s taken me a lifetime to figure this one out, and I still have a lot to learn! This past week, I was pondering whether to volunteer for something.  The job suited my skillset, and I quite fancied having a go, but I wasn’t sure I had the time. I struggle to get so many things ticked off my to-do list, that in one sense it was madness to think of taking anything else on. Rather than worrying about it, I decided, possibly for the first time in my life, that my peace of mind would guide the decision. I didn’t over-analyse it, but trusted my heart and decided to go ahead.  I recently purchased a new robot cleaner, Rocky. I've programmed him to vacuum and mop my large kitchen floor daily, first thing in the morning. This is a wonderful blessing, as it saves me so much work. However, every so often, I forget to pick a floor cloth up before I go...
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Tools of the trade

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Well… I have been somewhat preoccupied the last few weeks preparing to lead a ‘Knitwits for God’ knitting and spirituality retreat day in March https://www.wydale.org/events/2026/3/11/knitwits-for-god   Hopefully you will hear more about this in next month’s blog. If I’m not still lying down in a darkened room wrapped in my comfort blanket. 16 ladies (possibly more), all armed with knitting needles and crochet hooks. It could get messy… At times I’ve questioned what my preparation has to do with writing. And I’ve questioned my sanity (nothing new there) as I’ve sifted through hundreds of patterns (you think I’m exaggerating). Knitted and crocheted visual aids (Jelly babies are NOT me, and I can safely say I’ll never knit one again…). Wondered where all these half pairs of knitting needles came from. And more importantly where are their mates and are they lonely?   However in the last couple of days two things have been so helpful. Jane Walters’ new book: ‘Bless the work of our...
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