The Restory Retreat Centre

Two old men go moose hunting in Canada. They arrange with the pilot who drops them off in a remote region to come and pick them up in a week’s time. After a week the pilot returns to find the two old hunters with a moose each. “I can’t take the two of you with the two moose” he tells them. “My plane won’t manage with the load. You’ll have to leave one moose behind.” “The pilot we hired last year said the same thing” they tell the pilot, “but after we’ve offered him a big tip he agreed and took the two of us and the two moose.” The three of them argue for several minutes more. Finally the pilot agrees to take both moose. With everything and everybody loaded the plane charges down the runway and with a shudder they have lift off barely missing the tree tops at the end of the runway. But try as he may, the pilot cannot gain height and has to make an emergency landing in a clearing. The two hunters, dazed and confused make their way out of the wreckage. One hunter looks at the other and ...

Mahatma Gandhi played a huge part in the political history of India yet lived a very simple life despite his influence and stature.   In the end he scaled down to wearing only a loincloth with sandals and having only a pair of glasses, a watch, a book of songs and a bowl. He found that by limiting his material possessions he not only simplified his life but also created inner peace Lately I find myself often thinking about Gandhi while helping Matilda with Oupa Frans. He is totally preoccupied with a few possessions: his cap, his watch and his glasses. Sitting buck naked on the little bench in the bathroom after we have showered him, he’ll be looking and asking for them first thing. Despite being then strangely overdressed naked, according to him he is ready to face the world. When asked why it is so important to him to have his glasses as his eyes are not that bad,   he replies: “They are the only glasses I’ve got. Gandhi would have said: “They are the only glasse...

 In South Africa (maybe elsewhere too, but I can only speak for my own country) we have the tendency to overwork things. Especially artwise. What is in vogue on the interior decoration scene at the moment (on linen, curtaining,scatter cushions and even t-shirts and facebook), are scenes of rural or farm life, complete with windmill, tractor and with patriotic sayings printed all over the place: “Afrikaners is plesierig” (Afrikaans speaking people are happy go lucky) and “Die Kaap is Hollands”(a very old saying meaning that everything is quite alright).      A decade or two ago there was a season of guinea fowl. They were depicted on everything from artists’ canvas to dinnerware. I remember a dinner set I had hand painted for a client with a typical bespeckled border and some guinea fowl grazing with you in the middle of the dinner plate.      Another theme that was very much in vogue and still makes me feel nauseous, was paintings by all and ...

Photograph by George Angus Isness is God.                                 Meister Eckhart ~ v ~ Our faith imposes on us a right and duty to throw ourselves into the things of the earth.                                                                 Teilhard de Chardin I am of the opinion that we do not take things seriously enough. Thing things – stoves, forks, pipe fittings, plugs, brushes, string, door handles, cloth – that type of thing. We use them, hoard them, discard them, forget them, ...