https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb5hk7jDvvs
John Lennon composed this little song as a protest against the Vietnam war at the time. The full title includes the words "War is over". There are a number of different "versions" of the song on youtube. There is one depicting the most ghastly photographs of war and suffering taken by some of the most hardened war time photographers of the time. I decided to stick my head in the sand and post a much softer version with pictures of beautiful gardens and stuff. So much for the explanation.
It's wishful thinking to believe pain and suffering will stop. Even just for one day. It's even harder to imagine the warring factions will put down the guns and silence the rhetoric just for one day and "Give Peace A Chance". Believing that death and destruction will take a deserved break just for one day is the belief of a fool. So what is there to believe in.
Expectation, Hope, Joy, Purity are what the four candles of Advent mean. We can live with the expectation that tomorrow will be better. We can live with the hope of a brighter future if we all put our hands to the plow and work together to make this world a better place for each other. We can share in other's victories and celebrate the joy that comes with overcoming obstacles. We can strive toward the purity of heart and mind, to live life never to have to look over your shoulder.
Am I delusional. Maybe I am. Yet someone once said there is good in everyone. Sometimes we just have to scratch a little deeper to find the shiny bits.
Look back, Look Inward and Look forward. May this Christmas be a GOOD ONE.
The one skill I do not have is gardening. My green fingers just never grew. Maybe that's why God gave me the ability to see things just a little different.
Anyway, about three weeks ago we hired a gardening service to come and cleam up around the house. One of the trees in the front yard is a Syringa. Those that know the tree will also know it tends to be a little messy. However it is also a hardy and resilient species. Trying to control it's growth can be a full time job. These guys rocked up and hacked away and broke off branches fron the tree with almost reckless abandon, leaving one or two jagged ends. Two days ago I went out to get our tree climbing cat out of the tree and spotted the new shoot growing out from where the branches were broken of. My first thought was to photograph this little marvel of nature. Well, I think it's "bloody marvelous"
This got me thinking.
Twenty fifteen can hardly be described as a vintage year for me personally. And I guess I can say with a fair degree of confidence that there are many who too, have not being dealt a fair hand the past year. Now we find ourselves on the verge of Christmas and the end of the year. Twenty Sixteen beckons. We can look back at the year gone by and reflect on the mistake we've made and revel in the victories. We can use the gift of hindsight and say with confidence "never again will I do it that way". The future is unknown and it's quite frankly better that way.
However, I want to have the resilience of the Syringa. Even though I may be broken and slightly bent out of shape, I want to continue growing and have the ability to grow new life. There will always be adversity. People will come along and "break" me crudely and harshly put me down. But I want to have the ability to sprout new "branches" everytime.
And to all my friends here, there and everywhere. See you all in 2016. Never give up. Never stop growing "new branches".
