SpoonfulOfDreams

We are moving out. Its not that much of a wrench, nothing in the place was properly finished and we rattled about in a flat with much more space than we actually needed. In a way I feel robbed because I couldn't have afforded a comparable property in another location. It's like having two seats to ones self on the train and feeling a little peeved when it's legitimately occupied. Having what you need or deserve often feels like being short-changed. It is kind of scary. Making a home is such a primitive instinct and giving it up unwillingly always has echoes of abandonment and loss regardless of the affection in which you hold it. I remember being made redundant in the full knowledge that another job was waiting for me. I knew it was the job, not me, that was being terminated yet I still felt a keen sense of loss. I think it's the feeling of not being in control - not being the master of your destiny. Crises have either a purging or necrotising effect - they either force...

A critical look at the Full Gospel I've just been listening to an address by Steve Jobs at Stanford University. He tells three stories, the last of which refers to death as a gift. He says that death clears out the old and makes way for the new, that to be reminded of death gives life more focus and immediacy. He makes good sense and in many respects I would agree with him except in one respect. Death is not a gift. The shortest verse in the Bible is 'Jesus wept', a phrase abused by many who have never read the book. But even for those of us familiar with its context there is some confusion over its meaning. It comes in the story of the death and resurrection of Lazarus and its often assumed that Jesus was sorrowful at the demise of his friend and sympathetic to the grief of Lazarus' sisters. However, seeing that Jesus was intending to raise Lazarus on that day its not likely he would be sorrowful. But the verse does indicate a strong emotion which some render as Jesus...

The Message of Ecclesiastes "Meaningless! Meaningless! Says the teacher." So begins the book of Ecclesiastes. The teacher opens himself up to all that life has to offer - no holds barred - and comes to the conclusion that there is no meaning in anything we experience or accomplish. From dust we come; to dust we return. On the surface it appears to be a rather pessimistic view of the world. The feel good factor eludes us as he concludes that the whole duty of man (humanity) is to 'fear God and keep his commandments'. Not what you'd call 'a laugh a minute'. Unfortunately, by taking the pessimistic view we deny ourselves the opportunity of discovering the keys to unlock the very meaning the teacher appears to despair of. We've been drawn into the dragon's cave, dark and dank, with scattered remains of those who came only to plunder his treasure. But hidden amongst the gloom are sparkling gems that provide the keys we are looking for. It's a year s...