somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near
your slightest look will easily unclose me
though i have closed myself as finge
Let us return?
Posted on by James Woodward
ultimate blue
Let us return to imperfection's school.
No longer wandering after Plato's ghost,
Seeking the garden where all fruit is flawless,
We must at last renounce that ultimate blue
And take a walk in other kinds of weather.
From Adrienne Rich, Ste
Image of the week : Black on Maroon by Rothko
Posted on by James Woodward
This painting comes from one of three series of canvases painted by Rothko in 1958-9 in response to a commission for murals for the small dining room of the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York. The Four Seasons, one of the smartest restaurants in the city, is in the Seagram Bui
English Cathedrals : Portsmouth
Posted on by James Woodward
The Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, commonly known as Portsmouth Cathedral, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Portsmouth, England and is located in the heart of Old Portsmouth.
Around the year 1180, Jean de Gisors, a wealthy Norman merchant and Lord o
Image of the week: A Busy Life by Dubuffett
Posted on by James Woodward
Painted in August 1953.
It is one of the series of paintings known as 'Beaten Pastes' (Pâtes battues) executed between March and December 1953 of which Dubuffet has written:
'These paintings are done with a smooth light coloured (almost white) paste, fairly thick, sp
A Holy Saturday walk – Windsor Great Park
Posted on by James Woodward
Windsor Great Park welcomes over two and a half million people every year.
Windsor Great Park, the only Royal Park managed by The Crown Estate, was once part of a vast Norman hunting forest which was enclosed in the late 13th century. The 2,020 hectares (5,000 acres) of pa
Easter – and the possibilities of transformation?
Posted on by James Woodward
When we read when we read the Gospel accounts of the resurrection we note how varied these experiences were. There is always a mystery, a greater depth, new things to uncover about the transformation possible because of Easter. If we delve beneath the surface of t
Here on the Cross is Love and Life
Posted on by James Woodward
Jesus final words finished. His life is finished. His ministry is finished. The scriptures are finished. The reconciliation of God and creation is finished.
This is good news – everything is lost except the heart of God laid bare. We might just get close enough to glimpse tha
Love and Light
Posted on by James Woodward
fresh life
and then my heart
pulled itself apart
and, filled to the brim
with a new light,
overflowed with fresh life.
now even the heavens
are thankful that
because of love
i have become
the giver of light
Rumi
watchful
Posted on by James Woodward
watchful
If you value yourself
watch that self, carefully;
the wise should be watchful.
Self must govern self.
Who else would do this work?
If the self is well controlled
you have found a good master.
It is your self that does wrong
it is your s
reflected
Posted on by James Woodward
Love
there is enough magic here
inside this one word
to change our world forever
mountain snow lying
across life's pasture a
shadow reflected over
stone moss forest dream
man's ability to under
stand nature's living need
green comet seen in the
Where everything is Music
Posted on by James Woodward
Don't worry about saving these songs,
And if one of our instruments breaks,
It doesn't matter.
We have fallen,
We have fallen into the place,
Where everything is music...
Today, like every other day,
We wake up empty and frightened
Don't open the door
Feast on your life !
Posted on by James Woodward
Love after Love
The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other's welcome
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. G
Sometimes best to admit : mystery ?
Posted on by James Woodward
Wherever we go exploring in the world around us, we find
mysteries. Our planet is covered by continents and oceans whose
origin we cannot explain. Our atmosphere is constantly stirred
by poorly understood disturbances that we call weather and climate.
The visible matter in
HumanBeing
Posted on by James Woodward
We are not
human beings having a spiritual experience,
but spiritual beings having a human experience
-Teilhard de Chardin
Always Growing and Moving?
Posted on by James Woodward
Generous orthodoxy is aware of the need to keep listening and learning in openness to the Spirit and to the world for the sake of the gospel, it seeks to keep conversations going and not to end them. Generous orthodoxy does not so much specify a particular point or position
HAPPINESS AND ITS DISCONTENTS
Posted on by James Woodward
In our era, the idea that we should
lead happy, balanced lives carries the force of an
obligation: We are supposed to push aside our anxieties in order to enjoy our
lives, attain peace of mind, and maximize our productivity. The cult of "positive
thinking" even assures us tha
Love – always Love?
Posted on by James Woodward
eyes
Love is the cure.
Your pain will keep giving birth to more pain.
Just let your eyes breathe out love
as easily as a flower breathes out its sweetness.
Rumi, Love is the cure
Gifts and Graces
Posted on by James Woodward
I have come to admire the way different individuals function in their professional roles. Yet finally I represent the role my way, in my person, in terms of my gifts and my graces. These “gifts and graces,” as the Methodists put it, are not better or worse. They simply
Long Dark Days
Posted on by James Woodward
fall, leaves, fall
Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.
I shall smile when wreaths of snow
Blossom where the rose should grow;
I shall sing when night’s decay
Ushers in a dreari