JJ’s Muse

Went to an Inaugural lecture put on by The Forgiveness Project today.
The main speaker was Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and he was given the title of, ‘Is Violence Ever Justified?‘. He spent some minutes on on the given title, then shared for a longer time of his, and the South African experience of forgiveness, in and following apartheid…. He had a manner that was very engaging, thought provoking and challenging, and also humourous – which could seem strange to imagine, considering the topic.

Potentially even more provoking, or adding to the challenge of the Archbishop’s words, were the 3 people who were there as panel members: Mary Blewitt, who had 50 of her family killed in the Rwandan Genocide, and works now to support survivors, and also Pat Magee, convicted of planting the 1984 Brighton Bomb and Jo Berry, daughter of Sir Anthony Berry MP who was killed in the bombing. They each had a few mins to share their perspectives on the topic, and respond in some way to the points raised by Desmond Tutu. A few questions from the audience and the panel’s response to those, rounded up the event.

I went away intrigued by what I had heard, challenged, and thoughtful about the topic itself. I also came away with a sense of hope, that a project exists, in order to raise awareness of this topic, and enable such dialogue to happen.

Things I am Pondering as I wonder about this question:

• Are the debates swaying anyone? Reality TV Politics? Is it going to be down to words speaking louder than actions?

These are just some of the thoughts that have been through my mind as I have mused on the the debates that I watched (No. 1 all the way through, No.2, almost to the end, and No.3, not at all) and been doing a skim read of some of the reported commentary on them. Continue reading

This was my number, on the ticket I pulled out of the machine at the blood testing place today. The no. on the display was 23. *The following our the things are wrote down while I was waiting.

You can probably imagine my internal despondency at the thought of the wait that was ahead of me. In fact, I think the process towards that feeling actually started the moment I entered the tiny side space that has been given over to it, and saw the number of other internally despondent people who were sitting down. – Would this shared communal feeling be enough to call us a community? Continue reading

Haven’t done this in a while, but heard the following on a radio show yesterday:

“If you’re living a lie, you’ve adopted a rhyme.”

- Author Unknown

I thought it was interesting…

The Past is gone, your Future is here, grab it! Grab It! GRAB IT!

Where is your Future? Here in your Present, grab it!…

This is an idea that a friend shared with me recently. It is an idea that she heard from another woman, and one she has used successfully, as she prepares to head to the States to live.

We’ve probably all heard a plethora of ideas or strategies for how to de-clutter our homes, offices, rooms, wardrobes!

‘If you haven’t used it in 6 months…”If you haven’t used it in a year…’ and they go on.

Continue reading

I had an interesting conversation with a young person yesterday where we talked about life, life’s experiences, music, lots more, and matters of faith.

A particular thought was about this journey of life, the highs and lows of it, the sometimes feeling you’ve headed in the wrong direction, made bad choices and how you recognise the impact that has on shaping who you are/become. This led to musing on God. Does, how, and where He plays a part; thinking about whether there is a ‘straight path’ we are intended to follow, and the frustration there can be when we seem not too; wondering if God ever has enough of the ‘straying’… Continue reading

“Guard your heart, but don’t become a gated community”

- J Whyne (Dec 5th 2009)

Something to think about…

This is a theme/concept that I have been stewing on…

I think it was prompted by a talk I was preparing in which I referenced Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Need’ (Abraham Maslow)*

This theory of motivation, provides a mechanism for looking at human self/personal development and basically suggests that there are certain needs that all humans have, and that the higher ones are only met once the lower ones are.

I think my mind was particularly interested by the 4th level ‘Esteem Needs’, and what it might mean if those needs were unmet. Would this lead to your personal development being stunted, put on hold, arrested?

As I began by saying, I’m stewing on: Arrested Development…

*First published in 1943, and one of the most popular and often cited theories of human motivation.

I had a really unhelpful, unsatisfactory, and upsetting phone call today with an unknown person at a hospital.

I wanted to call a friend who had been admitted, and wish her happy birthday. I was stonewalled in my efforts as the person on the phone refused to tell me if she was still there, quoting rules and regulations, which didn’t seem to exist a few weeks back. Continue reading