06/04/2017

Good morning

Today is the beginning of the new financial year.

And it’s that time of year when many of us have been surrounded by piles of receipts and accounts, and when we promise that next year we will do it differently. Except that next year seems to come around again very quickly and we’re faced with the same piles of administration.

What is it that makes us push boundaries and time limits and our nerves until we’re screaming, “Never again”? Maybe today is the day to make a plan; and the plans should be what’s achievable. It’s a bit like prayer, we can over-reach and end up feeling frustrated and let-down because we’ve tried to do too much too quickly. There’s room for being kind to ourselves, giving ourselves a break – not always watching and self-judging.

The mystic John O’Donohue said – “We all watch, but it depends on the kind of watching that you do.” He said we could all get a PhD in Woundology. So we should consider what we need to watch and what we don’t need to watch. We also need to consider the difference between what is urgent and what is important. And let’s remember that we have to love ourselves before we can love other people.

Compassionate God,

Lead us into new ways of living that give space and time to what is essential;

Space that makes us available to others who need our time.

Slow us into a place where we can see your hand gentling us,

Away from fear and anxiety, into a deeper embrace with you. Amen.