Thursday, 23 June 2011
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
An unconventional life of dreams...
So I reckon much of my life has been unconventional in many ways, but then again whose isn’t? And what is a conventional life? So often it looks from a distance that everyone else seems to have it all together, they’ve got money, nice house, family, husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend or loved ones. They hold down a good job, they have the freedom to do what they want, free from financial burden and so on. If we look through our ‘glass half empty’ view, others may appear to have more, but do they?
I saw this morning a quote on Twitter from @revrunwisdom he said “Happiness is just being satisfied with the life you lead”. It’s nothing new, there are many quotes that are similar, but so true and so often I see people saddened for what they think they could or should have; yet not valuing what they already do. The truth is we are all individuals and ‘nobody is better at being us than we are’, so why try to be someone else.
But even given that we are all unique, and are living at least some part of our lives that is not conventional, whatever that is, there are times when we do something that not many of our friends or family do and so it sparks interest, well sometimes anyway.
I love the notion that ‘everyone has a book in them’. Not sure how true this really is, but I am sure that more people do than actually write a book. Well I am going along the lines that ‘everyone has a song inside them’, or in my case an album (is that what you call it today?). So I have decided that after all these years of playing in various bands be it on drums, sax or guitar, I am going to put pen to paper for lyrics, pull together a few chords and melody lines and write some songs, in fact the intention is to write enough songs that I can put them in to a collection and record an Album. I really am setting the bar low though, although this is another of my life goals, as I write the intent is to do nothing more than write the songs and record them on my home MAC, collate them in to what would look like an Album and then burn a CD to say “I’ve done it”!
If it turns out OK, I may pull together a small team and go in to a studio, but the goal right now is to simply just get the ideas together. Who knows, it might be a very poor out come, but as the other saying goes, ‘If you don’t try you will never know’. So at best I’ll move in to the studio, at worst, I’ll know!
I’ll blog about progress, equipment I use, and experiences I gain in the process.
Do you have a dream or a life goal? What’s stopping you from achieving it? Do you think I have lost the plot?
Bye for now.
I saw this morning a quote on Twitter from @revrunwisdom he said “Happiness is just being satisfied with the life you lead”. It’s nothing new, there are many quotes that are similar, but so true and so often I see people saddened for what they think they could or should have; yet not valuing what they already do. The truth is we are all individuals and ‘nobody is better at being us than we are’, so why try to be someone else.
But even given that we are all unique, and are living at least some part of our lives that is not conventional, whatever that is, there are times when we do something that not many of our friends or family do and so it sparks interest, well sometimes anyway.
I love the notion that ‘everyone has a book in them’. Not sure how true this really is, but I am sure that more people do than actually write a book. Well I am going along the lines that ‘everyone has a song inside them’, or in my case an album (is that what you call it today?). So I have decided that after all these years of playing in various bands be it on drums, sax or guitar, I am going to put pen to paper for lyrics, pull together a few chords and melody lines and write some songs, in fact the intention is to write enough songs that I can put them in to a collection and record an Album. I really am setting the bar low though, although this is another of my life goals, as I write the intent is to do nothing more than write the songs and record them on my home MAC, collate them in to what would look like an Album and then burn a CD to say “I’ve done it”!
If it turns out OK, I may pull together a small team and go in to a studio, but the goal right now is to simply just get the ideas together. Who knows, it might be a very poor out come, but as the other saying goes, ‘If you don’t try you will never know’. So at best I’ll move in to the studio, at worst, I’ll know!
I’ll blog about progress, equipment I use, and experiences I gain in the process.
Do you have a dream or a life goal? What’s stopping you from achieving it? Do you think I have lost the plot?
Bye for now.
Monday, 31 January 2011
Great churches are not built on the gifts and talents of a few, but on the sacrifices of many.
I found the title of this Blog when browsing the many entries on Twitter and as with many items I see on Twitter, it captured my imagination.
We have an interesting scenario playing out at my local church at the moment. Mid way through 2010 it was announced that our Vicar (incumbent) would soon be marrying and as is often the case with a newly married incumbent he would be leaving St. Peters so they could start a new journey as a married couple.
The situation of having no incumbent is not an unusual one for St. Peters in Yateley as the last incumbent moved on a few years previously leaving St. Peters with the task of managing on its own during the recruitment process. An incumbent moving on is not uncommon for any church, but for the purposes of this article, it is the space in between that I am interested in. How does a church keep going when there is no incumbent in place?
I joined the Church relatively recently, beginning my journey at the end of 2007 on the Alpha course. Prior to this I had humbly believed that everything in a Church revolved around the incumbent and the only volunteers were the occasional flower arranger, those who served coffee and the annual jumble sale. Having been a member for a few years I now realize this of course could not be further from the truth, perhaps I’d be better to have used the term naïve rather than humble!
So much voluntary work happens in a church that is often not visible from the outside, what’s more surprising is much is not visible from the inside either. That is not to say there is a bad job of promoting activities, but these activities are very targeted to certain groups. And as we are in the current situation of not having a regular incumbent the opportunities to volunteer are even greater.
We currently have six regular services, for each of these services we will have a Rota for leading, reading, preaching, praying, serving coffee, welcoming, preparing announcements, sound and organising musical worship. On top of this we have extra services, youth clubs for each of the various age groups, women’s ministry, men’s ministry including weekends away. We have the youth church, youth bands, adult bands, many home groups and all this without mentioning buildings to manage and a Vicar to recruit. Even in this exhaustive list, which is only the tip of the iceberg there are multiple areas within each of these areas that offer opportunity for many to volunteer, get involved and grow in their faith.
I am proud to be a part of St. Peters, like any family, it’s not always a bed of roses, sometimes we don’t always agree and sometimes we don’t see some people for months on end as they deal with just they’re part of ministry. I am not sure there is such a thing as the perfect Church but if great churches are indeed built on the sacrifice of many and not the gifts of a few then I do believe we at St. Peters are building that great church and have a lot to be proud of.
We still however, look forward to seeing a new Vicar in place and all that he or she will bring to the community. What's more, they've got some flowers to arrange and a jumble sale to organise.
We have an interesting scenario playing out at my local church at the moment. Mid way through 2010 it was announced that our Vicar (incumbent) would soon be marrying and as is often the case with a newly married incumbent he would be leaving St. Peters so they could start a new journey as a married couple.
The situation of having no incumbent is not an unusual one for St. Peters in Yateley as the last incumbent moved on a few years previously leaving St. Peters with the task of managing on its own during the recruitment process. An incumbent moving on is not uncommon for any church, but for the purposes of this article, it is the space in between that I am interested in. How does a church keep going when there is no incumbent in place?
I joined the Church relatively recently, beginning my journey at the end of 2007 on the Alpha course. Prior to this I had humbly believed that everything in a Church revolved around the incumbent and the only volunteers were the occasional flower arranger, those who served coffee and the annual jumble sale. Having been a member for a few years I now realize this of course could not be further from the truth, perhaps I’d be better to have used the term naïve rather than humble!
So much voluntary work happens in a church that is often not visible from the outside, what’s more surprising is much is not visible from the inside either. That is not to say there is a bad job of promoting activities, but these activities are very targeted to certain groups. And as we are in the current situation of not having a regular incumbent the opportunities to volunteer are even greater.
We currently have six regular services, for each of these services we will have a Rota for leading, reading, preaching, praying, serving coffee, welcoming, preparing announcements, sound and organising musical worship. On top of this we have extra services, youth clubs for each of the various age groups, women’s ministry, men’s ministry including weekends away. We have the youth church, youth bands, adult bands, many home groups and all this without mentioning buildings to manage and a Vicar to recruit. Even in this exhaustive list, which is only the tip of the iceberg there are multiple areas within each of these areas that offer opportunity for many to volunteer, get involved and grow in their faith.
I am proud to be a part of St. Peters, like any family, it’s not always a bed of roses, sometimes we don’t always agree and sometimes we don’t see some people for months on end as they deal with just they’re part of ministry. I am not sure there is such a thing as the perfect Church but if great churches are indeed built on the sacrifice of many and not the gifts of a few then I do believe we at St. Peters are building that great church and have a lot to be proud of.
We still however, look forward to seeing a new Vicar in place and all that he or she will bring to the community. What's more, they've got some flowers to arrange and a jumble sale to organise.
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Do we really value what we have here and now?
It seems each of us, to varying degrees, are on the roller coaster ride of life, with its ups and downs twists and turns. For some the highs are higher and for others the lows are lower, but how many of us really find true happiness?
For some it seems to be the pursuit of money and power or better cars, bigger houses, travel to far off lands, perhaps it’s the freedom to not be under pressure of work, maybe it’s lots of friends or to be surrounded by family, to follow a faith, giving something of yourself or something different all together.
It does appear however that many of us have an inner drive that is never quite satisfied, always hungry or thirsty for more, but why and what?
I imagine as a human race if we were an easily satisfied bunch after discovering fire and inventing the wheel we’d have just sat back and relaxed enjoying every sunrise, every sunset, every meal and appreciating the love of our family and friends.
So who is happier? The ambitious person who works hard to learn, drives an ambitious career to reach the top, is curious to keep learning, absorbing new cultures and experiences and enjoying the occasional vacation or the person who wakes, works, eats, drinks and sleeps?
Well this one I think I can answer, it depends! Yes, it depends on the person, some find happiness in the former, though the very drive to conquer all these opportunities must surely indicate some level of un-satisfaction, even if temporary, or there would be no drive. The latter seems to be content with the simplest of pleasures like food and the occasional drink, but is it out of choice or entrapment? Oh dear, more questions!
Maybe true happiness is a balance of something in between, or to put another way is achievable when you have the serenity to accept the things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can and the wisdom to know the difference. OK, I admit, those aren’t my words, but those credited to Reinhold Niebuhr. But we do need to do perhaps three things here, which we occasionally seem to fail to do in the pursuit of happiness:
1. Accept the things we cannot change. Just deal with it, we may not like it but sometimes it just is what it is.
2. The courage to change the things we can, we sometimes hide behind excuses as to why we can’t do something, obstacles are inevitable in anything we undertake but can’t steal our dreams without permission. Quitting is optional though.
3. The wisdom to know the difference, which in many ways is the hardest part. Experience is a hard teacher, but as Anthony Robbins says, if you do what you’ve always done you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.
So maybe when we take on the wrong challenges, we wear ourselves out. When it comes to the right battles, we’re too worn out to fight and choose to rest. And in resting we miss opportunities, but never satisfy the hunger and thirst we have in our pursuit of happiness.
I want to make it clear that I’m very aware of medical conditions that people suffer from with depression, and am not in anyway belittling these illnesses nor suggesting that my thoughts above reflect or are the answer to these unfortunate conditions. There is a good deal of understanding and a good deal of professional help to deal with both physical and psychological conditions that may lead to depression. I am just looking at a general question of finding what makes us happy. Is it a pursuit, or do we have it here and now?
There are many books on the subjects that surround this theme; my favourite so far is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It's about the treasures we seek far away only to find them at our doorstep.
What makes you happy? Have you conquered this age-old mystery? Do share your secret.
God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
The courage to change the things that I can;
And the wisdom to know the difference.
For some it seems to be the pursuit of money and power or better cars, bigger houses, travel to far off lands, perhaps it’s the freedom to not be under pressure of work, maybe it’s lots of friends or to be surrounded by family, to follow a faith, giving something of yourself or something different all together.
It does appear however that many of us have an inner drive that is never quite satisfied, always hungry or thirsty for more, but why and what?
I imagine as a human race if we were an easily satisfied bunch after discovering fire and inventing the wheel we’d have just sat back and relaxed enjoying every sunrise, every sunset, every meal and appreciating the love of our family and friends.
So who is happier? The ambitious person who works hard to learn, drives an ambitious career to reach the top, is curious to keep learning, absorbing new cultures and experiences and enjoying the occasional vacation or the person who wakes, works, eats, drinks and sleeps?
Well this one I think I can answer, it depends! Yes, it depends on the person, some find happiness in the former, though the very drive to conquer all these opportunities must surely indicate some level of un-satisfaction, even if temporary, or there would be no drive. The latter seems to be content with the simplest of pleasures like food and the occasional drink, but is it out of choice or entrapment? Oh dear, more questions!
Maybe true happiness is a balance of something in between, or to put another way is achievable when you have the serenity to accept the things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can and the wisdom to know the difference. OK, I admit, those aren’t my words, but those credited to Reinhold Niebuhr. But we do need to do perhaps three things here, which we occasionally seem to fail to do in the pursuit of happiness:
1. Accept the things we cannot change. Just deal with it, we may not like it but sometimes it just is what it is.
2. The courage to change the things we can, we sometimes hide behind excuses as to why we can’t do something, obstacles are inevitable in anything we undertake but can’t steal our dreams without permission. Quitting is optional though.
3. The wisdom to know the difference, which in many ways is the hardest part. Experience is a hard teacher, but as Anthony Robbins says, if you do what you’ve always done you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.
So maybe when we take on the wrong challenges, we wear ourselves out. When it comes to the right battles, we’re too worn out to fight and choose to rest. And in resting we miss opportunities, but never satisfy the hunger and thirst we have in our pursuit of happiness.
I want to make it clear that I’m very aware of medical conditions that people suffer from with depression, and am not in anyway belittling these illnesses nor suggesting that my thoughts above reflect or are the answer to these unfortunate conditions. There is a good deal of understanding and a good deal of professional help to deal with both physical and psychological conditions that may lead to depression. I am just looking at a general question of finding what makes us happy. Is it a pursuit, or do we have it here and now?
There are many books on the subjects that surround this theme; my favourite so far is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It's about the treasures we seek far away only to find them at our doorstep.
What makes you happy? Have you conquered this age-old mystery? Do share your secret.
God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
The courage to change the things that I can;
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Friday, 15 January 2010
Let’s be grateful for what we have and share what we can spare.
We’re often so blindsided by media stories, numbed by the hype that surrounds the mundane to keep our interests alive that when something as almightily tragic and sad as is the case with the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, there is a risk it becomes just another story or another news item.
But like the layers of an onion each story revealed seems to reveal a sadder situation still. At time of writing Haiti has buried 40,000 of its dead with another 100,000 believed to be dead. There is no emergency service infrastructure to speak of in existence that is able to respond to the simplest of situations let alone a tragedy of this scale. A prison collapsing during the earthquake has resulted in 4,000 prisoners escaping on to Haiti’s streets
For some while now, orphanages in Haiti have been dealing with children that have been abandoned, some children old enough to be aware. Molly Mackenzie, an American volunteer working in an orphanage shares her experiences on her blog. Molly was tragically killed in the earthquake. See Molly's Blog here
See the videos posted by Molly before tragedy struck, it’s good to see them in happier times, maybe one day they will be happy again.
See the children of St. Helene Orphanage, Kenscoff, Haiti.
See the children enjoying Global day for handicapped
Whilst some locals have taken to looting adding to the chaos, other locals are taking what tools they can get their hands on to try and help free those who are trapped.
The presence of International aid is growing, most notably just reported the 10,000 US troops being deployed. Millions of pounds/dollars/Euro’s are being raised globally to support the aid effort.
This situation always makes me reflect a little on myself. So when I next complain about having to wait a few days for the bins to be emptied or that the traffic is running too slow, or that friends or family are giving me reason to be upset. I need to remind myself to be thankful that I have the blessing of a clean environment to live in and that I can travel about my business in the knowledge that by and large I live in an incredibly safe society and that if I were involved in any accident that our emergency services are always on hand and above all I must remember that no matter how much friends or family may occasionally upset me (and I am sure, I them) I will be grateful for however much or however little time I have to love them.
Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) Donations
As recommended in Times online Jan 14th
But like the layers of an onion each story revealed seems to reveal a sadder situation still. At time of writing Haiti has buried 40,000 of its dead with another 100,000 believed to be dead. There is no emergency service infrastructure to speak of in existence that is able to respond to the simplest of situations let alone a tragedy of this scale. A prison collapsing during the earthquake has resulted in 4,000 prisoners escaping on to Haiti’s streets
For some while now, orphanages in Haiti have been dealing with children that have been abandoned, some children old enough to be aware. Molly Mackenzie, an American volunteer working in an orphanage shares her experiences on her blog. Molly was tragically killed in the earthquake. See Molly's Blog here
See the videos posted by Molly before tragedy struck, it’s good to see them in happier times, maybe one day they will be happy again.
See the children of St. Helene Orphanage, Kenscoff, Haiti.
See the children enjoying Global day for handicapped
Whilst some locals have taken to looting adding to the chaos, other locals are taking what tools they can get their hands on to try and help free those who are trapped.
The presence of International aid is growing, most notably just reported the 10,000 US troops being deployed. Millions of pounds/dollars/Euro’s are being raised globally to support the aid effort.
This situation always makes me reflect a little on myself. So when I next complain about having to wait a few days for the bins to be emptied or that the traffic is running too slow, or that friends or family are giving me reason to be upset. I need to remind myself to be thankful that I have the blessing of a clean environment to live in and that I can travel about my business in the knowledge that by and large I live in an incredibly safe society and that if I were involved in any accident that our emergency services are always on hand and above all I must remember that no matter how much friends or family may occasionally upset me (and I am sure, I them) I will be grateful for however much or however little time I have to love them.
Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) Donations
As recommended in Times online Jan 14th
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