From The Restory - Conversations On The Journey (175)

Looking Back On Contemplative Gathering

Early morning, where the Blue Cranes were not.

The Conversation

Elements From The Conversation

Friday evening, dinner and welcome in Brown's, the restored old general dealer where we held our sessions.

Barry and Ina van der Merwe

Sharon Grussendorff

Ronette, assigned to stoke the fire during sessions

Bring n Share, Saturday afternoon at The Restory

Taize service, Saturday evening in St Mark's, the little Anglican church.

Even though early and cold, we wanted to experience the Blue Cranes

Photo: Erik Buiten

Music

Eric Burton, song-writer and singer of the duo Black Pumas, on what inspired him to write Colors: "How do I write a song that explains the plight of someone who is spiritual trying to find their truth?"

It's a good day to be, a good day for me

A good day to see my favorite colors, colors

My sisters and my brothers, they see 'em like no other

All my favorite colors

The theme of the first Gathering was "Belonging". The first 2 lines from John O'Donohue's blessing captures it beautifully.

On a number of occasions during the Gathering we've returned to the full blessing. We are now giving it to each of you.

With our love.

George & Matilda

Comments

Whistle while you work

Drawing by Ron Leishman When last did you whistle while working? When last did you hear someone else whistle while working? Somehow it bothers me that whistling has become an almost absent element in our work. The sound of a person whistling a tune while busy somewhere in the house or out in the workshop conveys something of an underlying happiness, satisfaction and contentment. An enjoyment of the work itself. The tune need not be flawless. Applying more air than sound won’t lead to disqualification, as long as the intention is there. Whistling can even be replaced by singing in all that I’ve said up to now. The same principles apply. The absence of any of these two activities bothers me because it says something about us doing the work and the type of work that we do. Can it be that our type of labour in this 21 st century is not conducive to either whistling or singing? What type of work is that then – draining, stressful, pressured? Or are our conclusions ...

Lessons in Sunbirdish (1)

I have no way of proving that God exists. For a long, long time I believed because I didn't think I had a choice. If it is a choice between heaven and hell, you do what it takes to secure your celestial seat. Somehow I never stopped to consider why I so strongly believed in a heaven and hell, but wasn't nearly as sure that there's a God holding the keys to them. Then the sunbirds came. Slowly but surely I am being taught the dialect I need to converse with God. Or rather, to follow on what seems to be a trail that God leaves me. Being just up ahead and beckoning me all the while, it's not a chase after or a search for God, but rather a joint venture with God scouting and reporting back when my spirit runs low on this journey through life. In A Rare Find and Bird on my window sill I touched on synchronicity. I have come to believe that consciously living our moments, awakens us to the fact that there are more things in this life than meet the eyeball. Things t...

A likely Hero: Jara Cimrman

As Matilda has already indicated, one of the most difficult things to do after you’ve visited a country is to return and convey something of what you’ve experienced. How do you show a city’s many faces, introduce its inhabitants? How do you tell of the effects a history has on people and of a stance towards life that can actually not be translated into words? In the case of Prague, it is very helpful to have someone like Jara Cimrman. ~ ~ v ~ ~ Petrin Hill, on the left bank of the river Vltava running through Prague, is in many ways a site worth visiting. Climbing the 299 steps of the Petrin Tower, inspired by the Eiffel Tower, gives you one of the most beautiful views of the city. But by going down into its basement, you enter into the psyche of the Czech people. Here, quite unobtrusively, is the museum for the “ Genius, who has not become famous ”. Matilda and I almost stumbled onto it by chance and as we went through the exhibition, our amazement over this brilliant ...

The Restory Retreat Centre

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