Skip to main content

Focusing

See that?  That's the end of your nose.  And maybe just a short space in front of it.  Pretty easy to focus on that, isn't it?  That's the

Get up, get dressed,
Why am I already stressed?
Where's your trainers?  Where's my keys?
Not "I want, I want!"  Say please!
Now your coat's on front to back - 
No, you may not have a snack.
Out the door, we're running late.
Look, a car! A dog! A gate!
Now who was it I had to see?
Do you really need a wee?
One day I'll make this house pristine.
Right now I don't have time to clean.
What's for dinner?  I don't know..
OK, off to bed you go!
Story, pajamas, lights out, sleep.
Collapse in an exhausted heap. 

of everyday life.

Now turn that focus wheel... out... out... out...

Past Immediate Concerns...
Past Worries About Family...
Past Where Is My Life Going To...
Past News of Importance I Should Have An Opinion About...

See that?   That's a star... so far away that the light has taken hundreds of years to reach your eye.  

Watch it.  Maybe it will come closer.  

Maybe it will lead you...

Focus.


When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 

 what is man that you are mindful of him,
    and the son of man that you care for him?

Psalm 8:3-4 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dove Valley Walk: Going round the bend

Somewhere between Marchington and Uttoxeter, the wiggles of the River Dove stop wiggling west to east, and start wiggling north to south. If it went in straight lines, it would make a right-angled bend. As I'm following the river upstream, this was my last section walking west. After this it's north to the Peak District and Dovedale. here the Dove swings north The main walk of this section was all on the south side of the river. But I also did a separate, shorter walk, to explore the village of Doveridge, and the old Dove Bridge which is tantalisingly glimpsed from the A50. Walk 1: Marchington to Uttoxeter I liked Marchington even more as I arrived there for the second time. I parked opposite the village shop - noting the "ice cream" sign outside for later - and near the brick-built St Peter's Church, with a war memorial built in above the door.  A few streets took me to the other side of the village, where I found a path alongside a stream, then across some hay m

Dove Valley Walk: Meeting the Limestone Way

At Uttoxeter my route along the Dove Valley met some official long-distance trails. First the Staffordshire Way north to Rocester, then the Limestone Way continuing up towards Dovedale. Graham joined me on today's walk, which included the Staffordshire Way section and the first part of the Limestone Way. Unusually, it was a one-way hike; we got the bus back.   Uttoxeter to Ellastone Graham and I parked at Uttoxeter train station. It's very cheap for the day if you park after 10am, but I was worried about getting back in time for the school run, so we got there at 9:20 and paid the more expensive rate (still only £3).  We started off across flat fields towards the A50 and Dove Bridge. A group of young cattle gave us hard stares as we walked past. I posted a photo of a wonky gate on the Gate Appreciation Society with the caption "Parallelogate" and it quickly accumulated 200 likes - many more than this post will get!   Passing the old Dove Bridge again , we ploughed t

San Antonio

San Antonio is towards the south of Texas and feels very much more Mexican than American. The balmy evenings, the colourful Mexican market, the architecture of the buildings, and the number of people speaking Spanish around us all added to the impression. The city, in fact, grew out of a Spanish mission and presidio (fort), built in 1718 as part of Spain's attempt to colonize and secure what was then the northern frontier of the colony of Mexico. Texas was then a buffer zone between Mexico and the French-held Louisiana, and Spain was keen to cement her hold on the area by introducing settlers and converting the natives to Catholicism and loyalty to the Spanish government. The missions in general had no great effect, but the San Antonio area was the exception to the rule, growing into an important city with five missions strung out along the San Antonio river. The first of these, San Antonio de Valero, later became well-known as the Alamo, where 182 Texans died in 1836