Month: October 2022
-
The pleasure of a contemplative review
For beloved friends who do not have internet access, I’ve taken to printing out the previous week of musings from these Roads To Joy. Though it feels odd, looking at the week in a spread like this, it seems that it’s instructive too. Sometimes I’ve been really stretching, grasping and flailing around trying to find…
-
The fruiting body of the Fly Agaric
I stepped out this morning, getting ready for the dash back to Northumberland, and discovered a swarm of fruiting bodies of this poisonous mushroom under the trees across the way to the bottle bank. This one caught my eye, so fresh after the heavy rain yesterday, so vigorously pushed up through the topsoil. These crimson…
-
The amazing grace of song
We sang with some abandon in the Sacred Harp/Shape Note tradition, the resonant chest voices arcing through the air, yesterday evening, though my joints were slightly aching after the bout of wood stacking. The SongWave Choir members are gearing up throughout this term, and then into the next, for a series of Christmas concerts, so…
-
A morning tizz . . .
It’s been a little bit frenzied, this morning, as I had to make sure the access to the woodsheds was clear, that the woodsheds themselves were clear, and that all was ready for the dumpster truck to lift and deposit the load of hardwood within easy grasping distance for stacking. It took an hour and…
-
The joy of challenges
Without some sort of stimulation, boredom soon sets in and we might feel aimless, unable to concentrate, enervated and de-motivated. Too much challenge and anxiety levels creep up to create discomfort. But just the right challenge and I’m away, throwing myself into the fray and revelling in the attempt to fulfill the task. I did…
-
Golden dawn . . .
Dawn is something that I rarely experienced in my youth, but as winter draws near it’s an increasingly frequent delight. This morning’s golden hues evoke a sense of optimism that is frankly at odds with the prevailing climate, economic and political situation here. Often, when showing visitors around the place, I point over to the…
Roads to Joy 