Words and Thoughts, for Life
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There’s a light
That shines in the darkness
Amongst these Shropshire hills
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And as I walk
With the light in the darkness
All my anxiety stills
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And my heart with hope
And happiness fills
As I walk
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With the light
In the darkness
Amongst these Shropshire hills.
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So many colours surround us!
It is June, and we are surrounded by wild flowers everywhere, in Shropshire and beyond!
Most of these wild flowers were just growing on the side of the road, or in a hedgerow, and how many times would we all have driven or walked past them?
And yet each is a tiny miracle all of its own!
Wouldn’t it be good to stop and gaze at these little beauties once in a while and be reminded of how beautiful this world can be?
The world can be so beautiful.
I took this photo earlier this year, at dawn,of The Wrekin, in Shropshire.
The colours of the morning were so fascinating, and perhaps all the more special as they were constantly changing, and I knew that soon they would change from sunrise to morning.
I draw strength from the beauty of the world I see around me.
Maybe we all can?
When I came across this flock of ewes and lambs in March this year, they looked at me as if to question my right to be in their field.
Whose earth is it anyway?
Is it ours to do with as we please? Or is it “shared space” – even shared creation, as many living things actually create the environment we need for life.
It is good to be made to stop and think.
Perhaps the earth is more sacred than many of often think.
Perhaps we should behave more like guests than owners.
Whose earth is it anyway?
This week, the Wrekin – that beautiful distinctive hill of Shropshire photographed here – was crowned by cloud and mist. It was something beautiful but indistinct.
Just as life sometimes is so confusing, so disorientating, such a muddle.
The end of the day can be an opportunity to discover the meaning of the day. Was it in a beautiful sight? Was it in a precious relationship? Was it in a powerful moment of experience? Was it a day without anything special, just the usual, wonderful gift of life?
Isn’t life good when we have had a meaningful day?
What causes you confusion in life
And what brings you meaning ?
“Sure Man was born to meditate on things,
And to contemplate the eternal springs
Of God and Nature…”
Thomas Traherne, “Dumbness”
Colemere is small, tranquil lake in North Shropshire, which I have posted about before, and this beautiful mute swan lingered near the banks on a recent visit.
Reflection seems to be as natural for us as humans as it is to the surface of water, and it is something that is distinctively human.
I saw beauty in these simple, but complex, reflections of light and dark on the surface of the water, just as I did in the simple white beauty of the swan.
And I agreed with Thomas Traherne: “Sure Man was born to meditate on things“.
His lines are from a beautiful, thoughtful poem called “Dumbness” (in the sense of not being able to speak), and you can read the full poem here.
When the world speaks to us in such beautiful, reflective ways, it is good, very good.
I hope these reflections, and Traherne’s poetry, have spoken to you.
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A moment
To glide
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While the wind’s
Favourable
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And the air
Is free
.
Like
Joy
.
Sensation
Spontaneity.
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“Sure Man was born to meditate on things, And to contemplate the eternal springs Of God and Nature, glory, bliss, and pleasure; That life and love might be his Heavenly treasure; And therefore speechless made at first, that He Might in himself profoundly busied be:”
Reflection is as natural to being human as it is to the surface of water. The image above is of Colemere, a tranquil “mere” (small lake) in North Shropshire, dating back to the Ice Age. As Thomas Traherne says: “Sure Man was born to meditate on things“.
He continues:
This, my dear friends, this was my blessed case; For nothing spoke to me but the fair face Of Heaven and Earth, before myself could speak... Then did I dwell within a world of light, Distinct and separate from all men’s sight, Where I did feel strange thoughts, and such things see That were, or seemed, only revealed to me... “D’ye ask me what? It was with clearer eyes To see all creatures full of Deities; Especially one’s self: And to admire The satisfaction of all true desire: Twas to be pleased with all that God hath done; Twas to enjoy even all beneath the sun: Twas with a steady and immediate sense To feel and measure all the excellence Of things... every stone, and every star a tongue, And every gale of wind a curious song..."
These lines are from his beautiful poem called “Dumbness” (in the sense of not being able to speak), and you can read the full poem here.
Ironically, Traherne is anything but “dumb” when he writes about his pre-language childhood world. It seems a heavenly state, where the whole world “spoke to me”.
When the world speaks to us in such beautiful ways, it is good, very good.
These reflections on Colemere did just that.
I hope that they, and Traherne’s poetry, speak to you.
“I am a little world made cunningly”
John Donne
The other day it was raining in Shrewsbury, and I as I approached my bedroom window my eye was caught by something extraordinary.
Not by the view over the houses on the other side of the street towards the trees of the nearby nature reserve of Rea Brook, not by the dismal grey skies, but by the tiny water droplets clinging to the window pane.
Each was “a little world made cunningly“.
This wonderful phrase comes from a poem by John Donne which begins like this:
I am a little world made cunningly
John Donne, ‘Holy Sonnets’
Of elements and an angelic sprite
John Donne saw in himself “a little world”, a worthy, valuable existence, an existence with the potential for good. He saw in himself “sprite” (not the fizzy drink!) – we would say “spirit” today. It is true that he also saw in himself conflict, and if you are interested in this, you can read the whole poem here.
In each raindrop, I saw the same image of the road reflected, each time in a slightly different way. It was like an infinity of different perspectives that infinitely expanded the view from my own eyes.
A day that had appeared so grey and empty of interest suddenly seized me with interest. I lived in a “world made cunningly“.
Wouldn’t life be good if we could adopt this vision of John Donne’s more frequently, and see “a little world made cunningly” in everyone we meet and in everything we see?
In the darkness of a January morning in Shropshire I heard a song thrush calling.
It’s easy to recognise because of its beautiful and strong repetitive song.
You can listen to its song here.
There’s a great poem by Thomas Hardy called ‘The Darkling Thrush’, which I always think about in the darkness December and January, which ends like this:
At once a voice arose among
The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
Upon the growing gloom.
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So little cause for carolings
Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
And I was unaware.
from ‘The Darkling Thrush’ by Thomas Hardy
Well, there can sometimes seem “so little cause…written on terrestrial things” for hope at the moment. And yet despite the darkness, even in the darkness, we still can find things to appreciate and enjoy.
Many psychologists recommend keeping a Gratitude Journal to help us focus on the good things in life. And maybe it makes Lif4Gd if we can manage to stay focused on moments of joy whilst also accepting the suffering around us.
See if you can notice a few things that bring you joy today. It’s a great discipline to try to find a few things every day.
If you would like to read the full version of Thomas Hardy’s poem, it is available here.
Lif4Gd 