The Restory Retreat Centre

Source:  http://www.ufocasebook.com/bestufopictures10.html The following piece was written by a friend of ours, Doreen Bekker. Being a senior lecturer in Economics at the Department of Economics and Economic History at Rhodes University, her take on our mainstream  economic system is very interesting and real food for thought. She is such a good story teller and that, along with her story's message makes her piece something we're proud to post on The Restory News.  Introduction Perhaps upon a time soon, aliens from another planet may decide to visit us here on Earth. And maybe [1] the reason for this visit is their desire to encourage inter-planetary trade [2] . Why would any alien species, who are capable of interplanetary travel, want to trade with Earthlings though? Well, maybe there is something that planet Earth has that they need. In other words, we may have a comparative advantage in the supply of a product or service that they may require! Aft...

There is a video clip on YouTube that I watch ever so often. At least once a month. It is a constant dose of energy and motivation and to top all of that, it has the makings of a wonderful story. I’m talking about Susan Boyle’s first appearance on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009. The rest, as they say, after that audition is history. There is the huge success of her CD’s (her debut album, I Dreamed a Dream , being the UK best-selling debut album of all time), her fame and performances with her own idols and heroes like Elaine Paige, her fortune. Type in Susan Boyle on Google and the list of results tell you that she is now indeed a member of the well-known on the international stage. The British press often refer to her as SuBo, their pet name for her. I think her rags to riches story plays into what so many want their stories to be. It is exactly what those hundreds of thousands who queue for an audition in Idols, America’s got Talent, Britain’s got Talent, The X-fact...

A man was standing on a platform, waiting for a train. A boy came up to him and asked him the time. Man:       No, I’m not telling you. Boy:       Why not? Man:     If I tell you the time, you will ask me my name, the job that I’m doing and all other personal stuff. We’ll become more open with each other. In all probability you’ll pick a seat next to me on the train. The chances are good we’ll go to the same city. My daughter will be waiting at the station to pick me up. She is beautiful and you may fall in love with each other. Then she might insist to marry you.              I’m sorry, I don’t want a son-in-law who doesn’t even have a watch! Talk of not being in the moment! It would have been nicer though if I didn’t have this sense of recognition. George

Photograph by Suresh Gundappa It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us. No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No programme accomplishes the church's mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything. This is what we are about: We plant seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enable...

A man in a quiz show was given the question: What is a glass eye made of? He really applied himself, but for the life of him just couldn’t come up with an answer. “The answer, sir” said the host when the time was up, “is of course, glass.” “But of course!” said the man. “How else would you be able to see through it!” That came to mind when I was going through the following quiz about the weird and wonderful things in our world. Enjoy! WORLD'S EASIEST IQ TEST (QUIZ) (Passing requires only 3 correct answers out of 10) QUESTIONS START HERE: 1) How long did the Hundred Years' War last? 2) Which country makes Panama hats? 3) From which animal do we get cat gut? 4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? 5) What is a camel's hair brush made of? 6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal? 7) What was King George VI's first name? 8) What colour is a purple finch? 9) Whe...

Photograph by Hanna Jacobs In the session I had with my spiritual director today, we touched on how unfathomably delicate God is weaving the tapestry of our lives. Being human it comes natural to assign huge value to our talents, abilities and our achievements. For the focus to be first and foremost on those aspects. And I want to say: “Thank you so much for all that.” But I am also deeply, deeply grateful for my darkness, my shadow as constant companion, my flawed self. To keep me in check? To prevent me from hubris ? No, it is not about shaming, or taming. It is not even about perspective. It is about what I find in the dark. To discover how God works with dark. My darkness. Somehow, in the darkness, I am getting a clearer image of His being.There, even my sin becomes grace. All that I know is that it takes a God to do that. If my devils are to leave me, I’m afraid my angels will take flight as well. Rainer Maria Rilke ~ o ~ Today (11/03/2013) I came acro...

Photograph by Christopher Michel It often happens that I come across quotations, without looking for them or their subject matter, that supplement each other and convey the same message from different angles. I believe they are messengers and I do my utmost to listen. All other creatures look down toward the earth, but man was given a face so that he might turn his eyes toward the stars and gaze upon the sky.                                            ~ Ovid The wise man looks into space and does not regard the small as too little, nor the great as too big,   for he knows that there is no limit to dimensions.                                                      ~ Chuang Tzu George

I made myself a salad a few days ago. Nothing spectacular. Just some leaves (basil, spinach, chives and rocket) from my garden. To that I added sliced, raw patty pans from Leon's farm. Also from his produce, some baby tomatoes that I had sundried and preserved in olive oil, store bought lettuce for bulk and a couple of black olives. As I was picking and slicing, I remembered my delight at receiving some of the herb plants as Christmas gifts and I marvelled at how nicely they took to their new sunny spot in my garden. Patty pans are lovely added raw to salads and I felt blessed to have such an abundance of them because of the good crop on the farm. I assembled it all in a bowl that I had made many years ago when I was in my bonsai bowl making stage. I put it onto the old wooden dining room table, beautifully restored by George a while ago.  It stood bathed in a pool of late-afternoon sunshine. Perfect lighting for natural light picture taking, I thought. Why all this detai...

I long ago lost a hound, a bay horse, and a turtle-dove, and am still on their trail. Many are the travellers I have spoken concerning them, describing their tracks and what calls they answered to. I have met one or two who have heard the hound, and the tramp of the horse, and even seen the dove disappear behind a cloud, and they seemed as anxious to recover them as if they had lost them themselves.                                                                                                          ~ Henry David Thoreau

Die volgende spruit voort uit ‘n gesprek wat ek en Matilda vroeër die week gehad het oor die Engelse woord peruse. X:   Enige idee wat peruse beteken? Y:   O ja, maar natuurlik!     Peruse  s.nw, meervoudsvorm van ‘n Peroes , ‘n inwoner van Peru. Val binne die meervoudsvorm-groep van inwoners van ander Suid-Amerikaanse lande, bv. Brasille, Chillies, Venezuelle, Argentiniane (lg. o.g.v. historiese redes en Indiaanse bevolkingsamestelling  ’n uitsondering op ‘n alg taalreël waar s.nwe wat op – ië eindig gewoonlik - rs in die meervoud kry. Vgl. Indiërs,   Albaniërs ,  akniërs – al het dit nie met die uitleg op ‘n kaart maar meer met die topografie van ‘n gesig te make – en komitiërs in ‘n bestuurskonteks).     Bg. variasie in meervoudsvorme om inwoners te beskryf is eie aan die uiteenlopende verbuigings van Latyn, die spreektaal in meeste van hierdie lande en ‘n bewys van Romeinse besetting. Dit het gevolg op die ontdek...