An Invitation

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.

Jesus Christ – the Message, Matthew 11:28-30

Learning to live

in the unforced rhythms of grace

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion/the pressure of work/the stress of family life?

It seems so hard to find any real rest these days. We rush about from one thing to another, and life never seems to stop. It is so easy to feel burned out.

That is why I so love this invitation.

And I think it is an invitation to all of us.

Not just those who claim to be Christians.

Not just those who are super-spiritual and somehow above the rest of us.

This is an invitation for anyone – Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist, Agnostic, or just plain not sure.

It is an invitation for anyone who is just feeling tired.

Come and take a real rest

Learn to live freely and lightly

Discover the unforced rhythms of grace

November 14, 2015

Becoming

Becoming a child is a gift from God; it stems from God’s grace. The challenge for us is not to strive to obey all the rules, practice all the right disciplines, and so somehow convince God that we are really like children. Rather it is to respond to God’s invitation and accept God’s grace. In particular, it is to recognise that God loves us unconditionally, just as a father loves his child, and even more so.

Growing up to be a child, p149-150

In this contemplative companion I use four ‘disciplines’ of cleansing, feeding, resting, and dressing to encourage building a regular rhythm of life into our spirituality.

Click here to go to the contemplative companion to Chapter 11 of Growing up to be a child.

November 8, 2015November 8, 2015

Inheritance and Idolatry

The common interpretation of the word ‘inheritance’ is ‘what you get from your parents when they die’. In reality, though, an inheritance is far more than the material possessions left to you by your parents. What a child inherits from her parents is richer, deeper, and more profound than a sum of money. Who you are and what you become is a product of your inheritance: both the genes that are passed on to you, setting your potential, and the environment that you grow up in – your parents’ attitudes and behaviour, your wider family, and your influences outside the family – all combine to mould you into what you finally become.

No matter how hard we may try not to, as parents we inevitably pass on some of our values to our children. If what we value is riches, a comfortable life with all we could need or wish for, that is what our children will inherit – along with the binding greed, the fear of loss, and the indifference to the needs of others that such idolatry brings with it. If what we value is achievement, status, and power, that is what our children will inherit – along with the low self-esteem, the constant striving to be good enough, the bullying, and the exploitation that come with that idolatry. If what we seek is pleasure and indulgence, an easy life, fun and action, and a wide circle of friends, we will pass that on to our children – along with the emptiness that so often sneaks in with this idolatry, the fear of pain, and the loneliness of absent love.

Growing up to be a child, chapter 10

In this latest contemplative guide to Growing up to be a Child, we reflect on what we have inherited from our parents, both good and bad, and what we in turn may be passing on to our children…

Click here to go to the latest contemplative guide to Chapter 10 of Growing up to be a Child.

October 31, 2015October 31, 2015

Image: a contemplative companion to chapter 9 of Growing up to be a child

Children love to play. That is perhaps one of the most striking aspects of childhood. Interestingly, their play largely seems to revolve around a combination of creativity, exploration, and relationship. If you give a child a box of bricks or a crayon, she will create something with them. If you leave a group of children in a garden, it probably won’t be long before they start playing hide-and-seek. And if you watch children singing nursery rhymes, you will see beautiful examples of relationship – even in the very simple act of joining hands in a circle, dancing round and round, and all falling down.

In this contemplative guide we explore what it means to be made in the image of God… through play

Click here to go to the contemplative companion to chapter 9

October 24, 2015October 24, 2015

Soul: a contemplative companion to chapter 8 of Growing up to be a child

In chapter eight of Growing up to be a child, I explore this deepest aspect of our humanity as a growing awareness of ourselves, of other people, of the world we live in, and of God. In each of these areas, I suggest that the call to ‘become like a little child’ is a call to a redeemed awareness:

Of ourselves as beloved children;
Of our relationship to others;
Of the wonder and beauty of the world in which we live;
And of our heavenly father as a God who loves each one of us unconditionally

In the contemplative companion, we use music and scripture to help still ourselves and encounter the beauty and mystery of our Creator.

Click here to go to the contemplative companion to chapter 8.

October 3, 2015

Bonaventure

Do not walk away from darkness,

Therein lies a greater light;

Deeper beauty, yet unseen

my heart seeks out

thy mystery.

Seek not out the road well-trodden,

paths of knowing,

truth revealed.

Embrace, instead, the clouds of silence

Lose thyself in depths

unknown.

Inspired by Richard Rohr, Eager to Love, Chapter 12: Bonaventure

(though I’m not quite sure where this is leading!)

September 27, 2015

Attachment: a contemplative companion to chapter 7 of Growing up to be a child

Chapter seven of Growing up to be a child explores a child’s social development, how she learns to relate to other people, and in particular, the importance of attachment relationships:

In essence, attachment refers to a close emotional proximity between one person and another. We see this most clearly between a baby and her mother. The attachment bond provides security for the baby, along with emotional closeness that works both ways. Interestingly, attachment only really becomes significant in the context of separation. Indeed, the very purpose of attachment is to provide a secure base from which the developing child can explore the world; its ultimate goal is to enable independence. This is really quite important.

Continue reading “Attachment: a contemplative companion to chapter 7 of Growing up to be a child”

September 16, 2015September 16, 2015

Beautiful Morality

In his book, Eager to Love (I am only part way through, but this is fast becoming my number one book of the year), Richard Rohr explores what he refers to as ‘beautiful morality’ in the lives of St Francis and St Clare. In contrast to much of the religiosity of their day (and ours) he sees in Francis and Clare a new self and a new way of living:

The self they became was humanly believable and beautiful, and that also made their moral choices trustworthy and true.

(p63)

Rohr goes on to describe what this beautiful morality looks like:

Continue reading “Beautiful Morality”