Breathtaking beauty

Snow fell in our village overnight. It cleaned the air and land... and helped me breathe fresh new breaths.

Thank you...

The mirage of the media

I found this oddly inspiring quote at the end of an article, in defence of the paparazzi in the UK Press Gazette (the trade paper for UK hacks):

From Buddha himself! - "Believe nothing. No matter where you read it, or who said it, even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense."

The writer, Charlie Pycraft, was making the point in the wake of the Kate Middleton brouhaha that our government loves to make mountains out of molehills over celebrity privacy to bury other news, but is not quite so keen on opening up on its reasons for waging "illegal" wars.

Whilst it might be very inconvenient for Kate having the media camped on her doorstep, it is just satisfying an adoring, prurient public and, in most cases (although obviously not hers), providing the drug of exposure that celebrities seem to need.

I think that Charlie has brought a breath of fresh air to subject by injecting some ancient wisdom into the debate.

A journey to the source...

I went to the source of the River Thames today, with my wife. It was my birthday treat.

The Thames flows very close by our house, some 90 miles its origin, so it was time for a visit.

A pub, The Thames Head, is the most significant landmark when tracing the river to its beginning point - and the footpath is a bit manky as you start to make your way across the water-logged fields.

The effort is well worthwhile - it is an enchanted spot. The marker stone and the striking tree overlook what was today a large puddle, a pond really, and magical bubbles continually erupt from the earth through the clear water of the river's genesis.

Photograph copyright ©1999 Denis Waugh

Storming heaven...

The infinite heart-mind

Back to the heart of blogging in 2007 - thanks for the inspiration yb - with this yearning cry for inner truth from Macrina Wiederkehr:

"God, why do I storm heaven for answers that are already in my heart? Every grace I need has already been given me. Oh, lead me to the Beyond within..."