Embracing the New
Will the new year be as familiar as a pair of old slippers, or an opportunity for a new beginning?
I wonder how you spent your New Year celebration. Did you have company as you popped a cork and raised a glass to whatever the next year bring? Perhaps you slept through it, oblivious to the fireworks and chanting of the familiar ‘Auld Lang Syne’. For some, it represents a great opportunity to party, while for others, perhaps it seems a poor relation following so hot on the heels of Christmas.
It made me reflect on how we embrace the ‘new’. New year, new relationships, new circumstances, new possessions – I could go on.
To have something new can be wonderful. To do something new stretches us. However, unsurprisingly, there is comfort in the familiar. My dear husband had a couple of new wallets given to him over the years, but he persisted in using the one with the broken catch that fitted perfectly in his back pocket, and I am sure you know what I mean about old slippers
For some, the New Year is an opportunity for a new beginning and the freedom to start again. For others it can be a fearful prospect as they step into the unknown territory of poor health or family breakdown.
Gratitude
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens; Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens; Brown paper packages tied up with strings, - not to mention crisp apple strudels.Last month it seemed that the theme of harvests was appropriate as we began to go into autumn. Ours is not the only society to celebrate the ingathering of produce at the end of the growing season. Bali in Indonesia holds a rice festival between May and June. The Ewe people of Ghana celebrate the end of the rainy season and the appearance of yams, the staple crop in August or September. Sukkoth, or ‘The Feast of Booths’ is a Jewish festival, thanking God for the harvest and acknowledging the special huts that the people of the Exodus lived in while travelling through the wilderness.
Reflecting on this ancient tradition, it is obvious that at the centre of all of these festivals are thanks, gratitude and appreciation of what has been received.
According to UCLA, research shows that practicing gratitude, 15 minutes a day, five days a week – for at least six weeks can enhance mental wellness and possibly promote a lasting change in perspective. In fact, gratitude and its mental health benefits can also positively affect your physical health.
Harvard health tells us that the word gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness or gratefulness (depending on the context). Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. In the process, people usually recognize that the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside themselves. As a result, being grateful also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals – whether to other people, nature or a higher power.
Season of mists
This month as the evenings begin to draw in, autumn begins.
I have heard many say that autumn is their favourite season with trees turning from green to red, orange and gold. Damsons and blackberries adorn our hedgerows and early morning mists transform invisible cobwebs into glittering, bejewelled creations.
Of course, with autumn comes the time of gathering and harvest. On top of nature’s bounty come kilos of cultured vegetables and fruit begging to be eaten or preserved. Many hours can be spent chopping, boiling, or bottling to capture the goodness of hot summer days. All around are fields of crops; fodder beet, field beans, silage maize, lingering spring barley or winter wheat, which will be gathered together with the last cuts of silage.
Much like us, Jesus lived in an area which was both agricultural and beside a huge body of water – Lake Galilee. He would have witnessed the work required to harvest what was needed to provide for the people who lived there and frequently used illustrations from daily life.
Break Time?
Living in a tourist destination means that our lives are possibly involved with those who seek the rest and recuperation that can be found in this beautiful area. Our populations swell to accommodate thousands of visitors who desire the simple pleasures of being close to the ocean, the moors and Devonian villages. Even if we are not directly involved with the tourist trade, we will all be impacted by the increase in traffic and the buzz of shops and businesses serving the visitors.
Rest and recuperation is a vital part of life for us all. While those who are working in holiday businesses will keep their heads down until the end of the season, it is important that they too are able to have time out to stop and refresh themselves for the work of the next season and all of us regardless, need time to recharge our batteries.
The Extraordinary Ordinary
Were you aware we are in ‘Ordinary’ time? You might respond that, with the way the world, or even our country is at the moment, it is surely anything but ordinary! Yet in the church year, the time between the major festivals is known as Ordinary time.
It is a bit of a shame we associate the word ordinary with something common, yet in fact the word ordinary is derived from the Latin word ordo, from which we have the English word order. In effect, it simply means that the life of the church is ordered – it recognises a rhythm in life.
This time of the year we are in effect, just getting on with life. I have to say that as wonderful as Bank Holidays are, with so much going on and events to attend, it has been a quiet pleasure to simply get back to the ‘ordinary.’