Posted on

Satyagraha – A forgotten stream of true spirituality

suffragette

Last week Lois and I watched the film Suffragette: an extremely powerful portrayal of one woman’s part in the non-violent struggle for women’s rights; and, interestingly, a pertinent exploration of the parallel processes of alienation and grooming that accompany any form of radicalisation. The main (fictional) character, Maud Watts (Carey Mulligan), gradually finds the courage to speak out and act against the violence, abuse and oppression that she and so many of her contemporaries were suffering in early 20th century Britain.

Alongside the grim reality of gross injustice, and the moving, personal story of one family, what struck me most in all of this was the powerful testimony to the courage required of a non-violent struggle against oppression. While the suffragettes may have gone beyond non-violent resistence in some of their methods, the testimony of many of them stands strong. This is a testimony mirrored in the lives of people like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Oscar Romero, Aung San Suu Kyi, Malala Yousafzai, or the unknown man who, on June 5th, 1989, stood in front of a column of tanks in Tian an Men square.

05 Jun 1989, Beijing, China --- A Beijing demonstrator blocks the path of a tank convoy along the Avenue of Eternal Peace near Tiananmen Square. For weeks, people have been protesting for freedom of speech and of press from the Chinese government. --- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

Continue reading “Satyagraha – A forgotten stream of true spirituality”

Posted on

Hanging up my stethoscope

Today, after 28 years of clinical medicine, I hung up my stethoscope, put away my box of bricks and toys, and closed my BNF for the last time.

IMG_1701

 

Yes, I have finally done it. No more will I drive to Rugby on a Monday morning, to sit on the floor of my clinic room playing with little children, listening to their parents’ concerns, and trying to offer some advice or support. No more will I hold the hands of my beautiful patients at Brooke special school. I will miss them: Jimmy[1], Abi, Naheem… Each one, in their little ways, has blessed me. Little Carrie’s friendly smile; Joel’s mischievous streak; Yacob’s shyness…

It has been a privilege to work with these families over the years, and I have learnt such a lot: about children; about families; about the very real struggles and difficulties so many people face. I feel honoured to have, in some small way, shared in some of those struggles. And I hope that, for some at least, I have been able to offer some comfort, support and hope.

Continue reading “Hanging up my stethoscope”

Posted on

A Raja of the Road

Balvinder Singh, son of Punjab Singh, Prince of Taxi Drivers, may your moustache never grow grey! Nor your liver cave in with cirrhosis. Nor your precious Hindustan Ambassador ever again crumple in a collision – like the one we had with the van carrying Mongo Frooty Drink.

Although during my first year in Delhi I remember thinking that the traffic had seemed both anarchic and alarming, by my second visit I had come to realize that it was in fact governed by very strict rules. Right of way belongs to the driver of the largest vehicles. Buses give way to heavy trucks, Ambassadors give way to buses, and bicyclists give way to everything except pedestrians. On the road, as in many other aspects of Indian life, Might is Right.

 

Yet Mr Balvinder Singh is an individualist who believes in the importance of asserting himself. While circumstances may force him to defer to buses and lorries, he has never seen the necessity of giving way to the tinny new Maruti vans which, though taller than his Ambassador, are not so heavily built. After all, Mr Singh is a Kshatriya by caste, a warrior, and like his ancestors he is keen to show that he is afraid of nothing. He disdains such cowardly acts as looking in wing mirrors or using his indicators. His Ambassador is his chariot, his klaxon his sword. Weaving into the oncoming traffic, playing ‘chicken’ with the other taxis, Balvinder Singh is a Raja of the Road.

Continue reading “A Raja of the Road”

Posted on

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.

 

 

JMW-Turner-Stormy-Sea-Breaking-on-a-Shore

 

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

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

 

 

Posted on

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)

stfrancis_and_clare

 

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

Continue reading “Beautiful Morality”

Posted on

Strength: a contemplative companion to Chapter 5 of Growing up to be a child.

As a paediatrician, I am often referred young children who are delayed in their development, including those who are slow in learning to walk. When I am assessing a young child’s ability to stand and walk, I need to provide him with support and a stable base so he feels secure.

 

Esther 1993In this contemplative guide, we take time to reflect on a child’s journey in learning to walk and our own spiritual journeys. Through a prayer of examen or a meditation on scripture, we draw near to our loving creator, who is there to hold each one of us securely in his embrace, giving us the strength and courage to take those first, tentative steps.

 

Click here to go to the contemplative companion to Chapter 5 of Growing up to be a child.

Posted on

Humanness: a contemplative companion to Chapter 4 of Growing up to be a child

This contemplation, based on chapter 4 of Growing up to be a child, explores what it means to be a human being.

 

Esther 2002006In his gospel, Luke recounts how the child Jesus ‘grew in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and with the people.’  Luke’s description suggests four domains or areas in which children grow and develop into adults: mental development (‘wisdom’), physical development (‘stature’), spiritual development (‘favour with God’) and social development (‘favour with the people’)…

 

 

 

 

One of the most powerful aspects of Judaism and Christianity is that all these elements of our humanity are combined in our relationship to God. We are not just spiritual beings temporarily housed in physical bodies. We are human beings: physical, mental, social, and spiritual.

This is reflected in the great Shema prayer in Deuteronomy: ‘Shema Yisrael Adonai eloheinu Adonai ehad’[4] (‘Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one’).[5] The prayer affirms the unity of God and his relationship to his people. It goes on to focus on our response to God: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’[6] This response comes from the totality of our humanness.

Pause for a while; reflect; celebrate who you are – a wonderful person, body, mind, heart and soul.

Click here to go to the contemplative companion to Chapter 4 of Growing up to be a child.