When writing to a friend this morning I found myself unable to find anything worthwhile to say because all the ‘obvious’ responses were sounding like platitudes. You know the sort – someone is feeling a bit “down” and you say “pull yourself together” – or someone tells you that they have broken their leg and you say “hope it gets better soon”!!
Nowt So Queer As Folks
Hmmm….. is that really the case? So often we might say “would you believe what she has done” or “I wouldn’t have thought they were capable of that” or “you would never have thought that of him” or some other, similar, phrase to describe some ‘unexpected’ behaviour from someone.
Making Mistakes
Once again – as in the case of Memories my thinking has been triggered by the theme of a service at church. This time it is the issue of our fallibility – our propensity to get things wrong – or, as stated yesterday, the mistakes we have made. Whilst I certainly do not claim to be perfect, there are some parts of “making mistakes” that I’m far from sure about.
On Morality
When it comes to “right” or “wrong” it seems that, increasingly, there is a continuum from one extreme to the other and little agreement as to where in that long line any particular thing resides. Even the most heinous of acts can – from some perspectives – have some aspect of ‘good’ about them. Equally – something done with the best of intentions can be portrayed as evil – if the ‘wrong’ slant is put on it.
A Partial Summary
Although the entries in this blog are sporadic and are not following any particular pattern there are a few themes that run through them and which recur in different posts. I’m just thinking that it might be as well to provide a bit of a summary and a few links to enable easier browsing between related posts.
Someone Is Pulling The Strings Again
In previous posts I wrote about the way in which I have “re-interpreted” an East Asian belief regarding the “Red String of Fate”. It is time to revisit the idea and to write a bit more – expanding the original thoughts and considering just what we are “tied” to.
Listen To Me!
One of the great benefits of the so-called social networks online is that you become exposed to a vast variety of perspectives – different points of view that were we to limit ourselves to our ‘normal’ circles would never get close to penetrating our hectic schedules and overworked brains.
On Despair
Its OK – I am not “despairing” – its just that my thoughts over some recent days have led me to think about the concept of “despair” and the fact that it is not surprising that many people find themselves dropping into that particular pit!
The Best Things In Life Are Free
This is a mantra that is widely accepted, often repeated and, in my opinion, lacking in a true understanding of the “cost” of things. There is currently a radio advert that uses the phrase and I hear it most days whilst sitting in the car – no wonder my “thinking” has been triggered.
Perspective
At an intellectual level I know full well how important it is to consider that there is more than one way of looking at things – our perspective (or point of view) is critical in defining how we react to things; how we understand and ascribe meaning to things; indeed – simply how we see ourselves in the world. It is only occasionally that you get a “real life” lesson in how even a small change in perspective can make a big difference.