Saturday, 21 November 2009
Monday, 16 November 2009
CREATIVITY
it seems to be becoming more and more apparent just how important creativity is. Let's make space for it!
"TO COUNTER THE IMPERIAL COLONIZATION OF OUR IMAGINATIONS, WE NEED POETS, PROPHETS AND ARTISTS TO HELP US CREATE SUBVERSIVE IMAGERY THAT CHALLENGES THE REIGNING REALITY" (tom sine, 'the new conspirators' p. 91)
"TO COUNTER THE IMPERIAL COLONIZATION OF OUR IMAGINATIONS, WE NEED POETS, PROPHETS AND ARTISTS TO HELP US CREATE SUBVERSIVE IMAGERY THAT CHALLENGES THE REIGNING REALITY" (tom sine, 'the new conspirators' p. 91)
"... the outcome of such poetry is hope" (Walter Brueggenanm quoted in above book)
HOPE IS REALLY KEY.
Saturday, 14 November 2009
'train of thought'*
WHEN DID WE ALL STOP TALKING TO EACH OTHER? how ironic. now, now that the globe can be crossed in a day, now that the the nations gather and collide in any one city station. Now that we live out our lives just 10cm of brick away from the family next door. above floor. below. cardboard boxes stacked on top of each other. we hear the bed springs creak yet don't even acknowledge each other in the hall. breathe down each other's necks on the tube and sit thigh to thigh every morning for an hour on the way to work. but do everything in our power not to make eye contact.
contact. never that.
so we're sat in a crowded room with glass walls with our earphones in, transporting us to somewhere else. somewhere other than here. simultaneously living in each others pockets and living on separate planets (where we'll update our status and tweet the day away). blocking out the sound of the stories right at our fingertips. literally. deafened to the rhythms of the heartbeats that surround us, the harmony of real lives being played out at this very moment.
think of what we could give and gain if we only wound down those imaginary windows, unlocked those expressionless doors, and asked a few questions. started a CONVERSATION.
just in this train carriage i could write down 20 new recipes, learn five new languages, discover the secret to healthy hair, pick up some gardening tips, make someone laugh, perhaps make someone cry because it's the first time anybody's listened to them all day. all year. surprise the shy and embrace the forgotten. welcome the wisdom of age and be inspired by the young.
contact. never that.
so we're sat in a crowded room with glass walls with our earphones in, transporting us to somewhere else. somewhere other than here. simultaneously living in each others pockets and living on separate planets (where we'll update our status and tweet the day away). blocking out the sound of the stories right at our fingertips. literally. deafened to the rhythms of the heartbeats that surround us, the harmony of real lives being played out at this very moment.
think of what we could give and gain if we only wound down those imaginary windows, unlocked those expressionless doors, and asked a few questions. started a CONVERSATION.
just in this train carriage i could write down 20 new recipes, learn five new languages, discover the secret to healthy hair, pick up some gardening tips, make someone laugh, perhaps make someone cry because it's the first time anybody's listened to them all day. all year. surprise the shy and embrace the forgotten. welcome the wisdom of age and be inspired by the young.
but no.
i'll just continue sitting here writing down my thoughts with my MP3 on, casting only furtive glances at the pretty woman with dreamy eyes sat less than a metre away.
*Literally... my thoughts on a train. unedited.
having said this, in the morning I did actually have a proper "train conversation", and I am not one of those people who 'always gets into conversation', although I'd like to learn to be. Anyways chatted with a lady all the way from Brighton to London and it was really great. put a spring in my step the whole day. :-)
1001 things
i went to london yesterday to spend the day with a great friend of mine. it was good.
i like London.
i like the colours and the variety and the creativity... everywhere you look, of people, clothes, shops, buildings, food... i know there's also a lot that's not good. but it's definitely inspiring. a whole flood of images rushing before your eyes.
we went to the Photographer's Gallery near Oxford Circus. There's an exhibition on at the moment which i highly recommend. It's by Jim Goldberg and called "Open See". It's about immigration and people trafficking, with images of people and snapshots of their stories from all around the world including DRC, Greece, Ukraine, Liberia, Afghanistan. It's on until the end of January and entrance is free.
i also love a certain cafe (named 'cafe onethousandandone', hence the title of this blog post) on brick lane. there's quite cheap coffee, mango juice, big pastries, homemade cheesecake, and a bar among other treats. then you go up some steps and there's a softly lit big room full to bursting of comfy sofas and little nooks to sit in. and a "book orphanage" and interesting paintings on the walls and good music. it's my idea of ideal, really. :-)
i like London.
i like the colours and the variety and the creativity... everywhere you look, of people, clothes, shops, buildings, food... i know there's also a lot that's not good. but it's definitely inspiring. a whole flood of images rushing before your eyes.
we went to the Photographer's Gallery near Oxford Circus. There's an exhibition on at the moment which i highly recommend. It's by Jim Goldberg and called "Open See". It's about immigration and people trafficking, with images of people and snapshots of their stories from all around the world including DRC, Greece, Ukraine, Liberia, Afghanistan. It's on until the end of January and entrance is free.
i also love a certain cafe (named 'cafe onethousandandone', hence the title of this blog post) on brick lane. there's quite cheap coffee, mango juice, big pastries, homemade cheesecake, and a bar among other treats. then you go up some steps and there's a softly lit big room full to bursting of comfy sofas and little nooks to sit in. and a "book orphanage" and interesting paintings on the walls and good music. it's my idea of ideal, really. :-)
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
that Voice
i wrote this in Bolivia 3 years ago, it just resurfaced recently from the mass of pieces of paper that fill my life :-)
that voice
that voice
breaks with grief.
when they put their hands over their ears to block out the sound.
when they turn their backs and bury their heads in the sand.
Hear it rage in the storms
in the pounding of hooves racing into battle to fight.
that voice
calls me from the desert
calls me from my lost wonderings
like His chosen people i circled going nowhere
until i heard that voice
that voice
Voice which speaks LIFE into being
where there was nothing .barreness.
an empty womb now holds a seed of hope
that will blossom as it bathes in the light of that voice
that voice
whispers tenderly.
carried on a breeze.
that voice
breaks with grief.
when they put their hands over their ears to block out the sound.
when they turn their backs and bury their heads in the sand.
BUT THAT VOICE WILL NOT BE SILENCED.
Hear it rage in the storms
in the pounding of hooves racing into battle to fight.
when that voice speaks for you,
who can stand against you?
that voice
roars in the waves.
sings with the stars.
who has ever heard anything more powerful,
powerful enough to shake the earth's foundations,
to drown out death itself?
yet if you listen closer,
you will hear beauty beyond description,
melodies that cut into the core of your being.
vibrations to unsettle you from the tunes you were dancing to before.
harmonies that beckon you to follow.
thirst for more of that voice.
that voice.
which articulated itself in flesh and bone.
mind.
emotion.
tangible.
man.
took the risk of being ignored.
hushed itself to humble whispers in a far flung corner of the earth.
that voice.
spoke healing.
challenged. provoked. wept. loved.
that voice
was crushed one dark day.
all creation moaned.
but on the third day
that voice
proclaimed
VICTORY.
and
that voice
is calling me
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Saturday, 24 October 2009
still.joy.love.
Ah. it's good to STOP. breathe. in and out. be still. i have not done enough of that recently. i'm good at filling my time, mainly with people, which is not a bad thing, i love it. but suddenly batteries run low! still getting used to new rhythms and routines but i know i need to make sure these little spaces of quiet and the good kind of solitude don't get forgotten.
It's a chance to be reminded of things that are TRUE, the truths that i want to base my life upon, rather than getting carried away by the torrent of thoughts that fill my head, going in all directions and generally leaving me feeling confused and even more self-absorbed. Sometimes though, it's other people that remind you of truth, and lift your eyes off of your own circumstances and feelings. This week i was reminded about JOY. and how true Joy is not an emotion, is not temporary, like so much of what we surround ourselves with, but is so much deeper. and it is rooted in the One who does not change and who is always good. It is a gift and it gives us strength. and is found when we look UP even when everything else seems like it's crashing down.
and finally i'll leave you with another great quote from Bonhoeffer that i read this morning:
Love does not bear a grudge. It approaches others anew each day and with new love, and it forgets what has past. In this way it makes itself a fool and the object of people's mockery, but this does not drive it crazy - it just continues to love.
It's a chance to be reminded of things that are TRUE, the truths that i want to base my life upon, rather than getting carried away by the torrent of thoughts that fill my head, going in all directions and generally leaving me feeling confused and even more self-absorbed. Sometimes though, it's other people that remind you of truth, and lift your eyes off of your own circumstances and feelings. This week i was reminded about JOY. and how true Joy is not an emotion, is not temporary, like so much of what we surround ourselves with, but is so much deeper. and it is rooted in the One who does not change and who is always good. It is a gift and it gives us strength. and is found when we look UP even when everything else seems like it's crashing down.
and finally i'll leave you with another great quote from Bonhoeffer that i read this morning:
Love does not bear a grudge. It approaches others anew each day and with new love, and it forgets what has past. In this way it makes itself a fool and the object of people's mockery, but this does not drive it crazy - it just continues to love.
Thursday, 15 October 2009
DNA
I want to get back into writing regularly, it's one of those things the longer you leave it, the harder it is. So i'm just writing and seeing what thoughts spill through my finger tips. I am pondering a little on the purpose of this blog... I'm aware all these online tools can become rather self indulgent, and also very time consuming, at least this is the case for me, so i want my reasons to be good. I'd like what I post to challenge and encourage and inspire, and on a personal level for it to be a way of practising writing and being creative.
I have just begun something called DNA, which is a 10 month .... hmmm wondering what word to use... let's just say 10 months of a mixture of learning about God, and oneself, and others, and a whole range of theological and current issues, and how they intertwine. The way this is done is through both studying and being placed in a church where you get fully involved in its life. You are there predominantly to serve, and that could mean a whole range of things both practical and spiritual. In other words it is a time of intense discipleship.
What does that mean for me? Well, I am staying in Brighton at my church - Citygate. I have started to feel really at home there, like i have space to be myself, and also that despite it not having a huge congregation, there are many many people I'd like to learn from in particular with regard to the way that they creatively love God and love Brighton in a whole variety of ways. I will be spending time helping out at the different projects that are connected to the church (more on them soon). It feels like such a privilege to be able to try out different things and work in a whole range of environments. This is just what i wanted this year so i'm very content and excited about what's to come!
I have just begun something called DNA, which is a 10 month .... hmmm wondering what word to use... let's just say 10 months of a mixture of learning about God, and oneself, and others, and a whole range of theological and current issues, and how they intertwine. The way this is done is through both studying and being placed in a church where you get fully involved in its life. You are there predominantly to serve, and that could mean a whole range of things both practical and spiritual. In other words it is a time of intense discipleship.
What does that mean for me? Well, I am staying in Brighton at my church - Citygate. I have started to feel really at home there, like i have space to be myself, and also that despite it not having a huge congregation, there are many many people I'd like to learn from in particular with regard to the way that they creatively love God and love Brighton in a whole variety of ways. I will be spending time helping out at the different projects that are connected to the church (more on them soon). It feels like such a privilege to be able to try out different things and work in a whole range of environments. This is just what i wanted this year so i'm very content and excited about what's to come!
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