Learn With Every Goodbye

After a while, you learn the subtle difference

between holding a hand and chaining a soul,

And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning

And company doesn't mean security,

And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts

And presents aren't promises,

And you begin to accept your defeats,

With the grace of a woman,

not the grief of a child,

And learn to build all your roads on today

Because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans,

And futures have a way of falling down mid-flight

And after a while, you learn

That even sunshine burns if you get too much.

So you plant your own garden

and decorate your own soul,

Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

And learn that you really can endure...

That you really are strong

And you really do have worth

And you learn

and learn...

With every goodbye, you learn.

Author unknown, posted by Josephine

Gill's Stations Of The Cross

At a recent Art class, our model had a look at my life drawing and said my work reminded her of Eric Gill's. Having never heard of Eric Gill I was of course delighted and proud to have my work compared to a "proper" artist. However, when I did a Google search, I discovered he described himself as being of, "sufficient, if only just sufficient technical ability combined with a complete and genuine ignorance of art school anatomy and traditional academic style". Somthing of a back-handed compliment then!

However, I then discovered that Eric Gill was the artist responsible for the carved Stations of the Cross in Westminster Cathedral. As I work near Victoria I was curious and went to pay a visit.

http://www.westminstercathedral.org.uk/art/art_stations.html

I would like to say I had a go at walking around the cathedral, empathising with the depictions of the passion as Catholics traditionally do at Lent. As it was, I had picked a time to visit when the Cathedral was chock full due to an initiation rite being held on the same day. I find the idea appealing though, comparable in some ways to the labyrinth walking that goes on at Rosslyn Hill. I would also agree that spiritual inspiration can be found from the lives and works of artists, not least artists as afflicted by the darker sides of the human psyche like Gill.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Gill

Anyway, I think the last word in a post on Stations of The Cross should go to John O'Farrell's newsbiscuit.

http://newsbiscuit.com/?s=Stations+Of+The+Cross

Take care all! Scott

Tawney, Temple and the Credit Crunch

Last Thursday I attended the dialogue held in the memory of RH Tawney. Tawney was an academic who along with Temple and Beveridge believed there was a role for the state in creating a welfare society. Furthermore, his own personal faith informed this perspective.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RH_Tawney

This year the Tawney dialogue covered the issues of the credit crunch from a faith based perspective. Examples include how a principle of Islamic finance is that there should be a link between the borrower and the lender. This has broken down in the creation of derivatives that packaged debts. Others might consider how the incentives offered by city bonus culture led to reckless or greedy behaviour. This might imply possible financial market reforms. In any case the recession following the credit crunch has turned a financial market problem into a social problem. Social institutions such as churches and all people of goodwill will be called upon to respond to this.

http://www.thecsm.org.uk/Articles/151271/Christian_Socialist_Movement/Articles/The_Economy/CSM_Tawney_Dialogue.aspx

Unitarians have a history of being on the side of social reform. In the modern era the church as an institution has had to deal with the question of how far concern for a fairer society is the responsibility of the private citizen or the state. Now more than ever, this is a debate that cannot be ignored.

A Different Perspective

Last week I went to the V&A Museum to watch an evening of Rare Buddhist Dances. There were performances by nuns from India, a Nepalese traditional dancer, but the most striking performance was by a group showing Japanese Noh theatre. It was quite unlike anything I've seen before and I found it quite uncomfortable to begin with. There was a strange vocal quality and ghost-like movement - it would be called avant garde if it weren't hundreds of years old. It probably didn't help that I missed the introduction so didn't really know what was going on, but after a while, I began to sink into a meditative state and felt quite exhilarated afterwards. Apart from the performance itself, another interesting experience was observing the drop-in audience. Late-comers sneaked in excitedly as they passed people tip-toeing out unable to stay in an uncomfortable state. It made me realise how we often don't allow ourselves to feel uncomfortable or take risks to try something new. Putting yourself in an uncomfortable situation can sometimes lead to discoveries about yourself, your boundaries and your strengths.

Clean Up Network Telecommunications!

A slightly surreal exchange between me and my flatmate!:-

Flatmate: Where have you been this afternoon Scott?

Me: Up at my Church.

Flatmate: On Saturday? Doing What?

Me: Mostly looking at pornography.

I was really inspired by the Doll's House seminar. A great deal of effort was put in by the organisers on an issue they clearly cared about. I have felt it is high time someone acknowledged that there has been something of a post-feminist backlash, amongst members of my own generation. However, as soon as anyone (let alone a religious group) complains about images of women in the media, they invite comparison with the likes of Mary Whitehouse (pictured). No pro-feminist would want to become the unwitting ally of the Taleban.

But I think it is important to differentiate reactionary panics about moral decline ( like this http://www.chastity.com/chastity/index.php?id=7&cat=Pornography,%20etc.. ) from the progressive case that needs to be made against mysogyny in mainstream culture. One of Anne and Appleseed's resources was the following:

http://sexperienceuk.channel4.com/sex-education

Whilst they are multifaceted social issues, the mass media has some part to play in the explosion of demand for cosmetic surgery, incidence of eating disorders and depressive illness. The shocking truth is that with the internet, the debate about pornography has gone beyond the 1980s protests against page 3. There is a less "benign" side that is a potential cause of violence against women.

The Social Action Committee is still open to ideas on what might be done, but I would suggest the following for starters.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jan/18/gender.features11

A fitting tribute to our own Mary Wollstonecraft!

Sing for your life

Over the weekend, I was reminded of how much I love singing. Rosslyn Hill choir starts up again this Wednesday 29 April (for more info contact RHUC) and even though sometimes I have to drag myself there after the working day, I always feel a million times better afterwards. It seems that there is some academic evidence on the health-giving benefits of singing. But more than that, I know I feel more alive when I sing. I am also looking forward to meeting other Urban Unitarians on Tuesday 28 April. So this week, I will celebrating spirituality through voices of discussion and music. Posted by Kate.

Slow Down London

One of the wonderful things about going to Rosslyn Hill Chapel is the feeling of slowing down and re-setting of the soul that comes after a service. I don't know if it's the same for you, but I find that achieving 'slowness' is one of the greatest spiritual challenges I face in my daily life, cluttered by emails and high-speed thoughts which are usually trivial and time-consuming. If you are interested, over the next couple of weeks (April 24-May 3) there will be a festival on precisely this topic organized by Slow Down London . It will include lectures, free yoga and meditation classes, crafts as well as a Slow Food Market to sample some local and traditionally sourced foods. Otherwise let's just remind ourselves to look up at the buildings and the people when we are rushing for that tube station, to stop and consider the loved ones in our lives and to remember that they won't always be there, to marvel at the power and strength of our bodies while they are still young, to dance and look up at the stars...