It is early morning on the banks of Ireland’s wild river—the mighty Shannon. The rising sun is just beginning to light up the water. The earth is awakening.
Continue reading “Still Listening with St Patrick”Category: Listening begins Here
Nature’s Unfinished Symphony
The responsive chord in our imagination needs re-awakening. We need to hear again that new ‘music’ we have faintly heard before – Nature’s Unfinished Symphony.
Continue reading “Nature’s Unfinished Symphony”He wakens my ear
It’s a misty early morning at the turn of the year. As the dawn light glides across the garden the contrasts of light and dark are accentuated. Shapes appear out of the darkness, beauties begin to be revealed – the shape of shrubs, tree stems, last year’s surviving dried grasses in their ochre and brown dress, teazle heads standing up proud. The mist adds a sense of mystery as a new day is opened up in front of us. Yes, it’s good to be alive on a new morning like this, even in mid-winter -a new day beckons. We are thankful for every new morning, with its freshness and opportunities. Continue reading “He wakens my ear”
Awake with the Dawn
There’s something very special about early morning. Ivor Gurney called it “day’s most sacred hour“.
Night has passed and a new day is beginning and I’ve been sitting, with a cup of tea, looking out on the garden.
I’m the only one awake in this house and it appears that there’s no sign of life yet among the neighbours. The ever present sound of traffic through the village near by is at a minimum. As far as I am concerned it’s just me alone with the dawn. To sit and take in the quietness and the stillness is exhilarating.
The birds, of course, have beaten me to it. It is surprising how many different songs I can still hear in the surrounding gardens. All my senses are involved; as well as the silence and the stillness there is the smell of the wet grass and the scent of ‘productive decay’ among the carpet of leaves, still lying where they fell a few weeks ago. It’s a heavenly moment.