Holiday Reading
With August and the summer holiday season upon us, we offer you the following, to take away with you, and to reflect on...
Purifier
I want to change the fruits of my labours.
When someone says 'Apple', I don't want sleek plastic and chrome, but England's Coxes, heavy hung in dappled orchards.
When someone says 'Orange', I don't want to know about free minutes and the latest upgrades. I want to think citrus thoughts; the appeal of slowly peeling skin.
And when someone says 'Blackberry', I don't want my head to rush with virtual thoughts of emails and deadlines and documents and settings and schedules and coverage and battery life.
I want my tongue, instead, to rush with sweet sensation, a bowl of fruits shared with friends. A rug. Open space and blue sky.
Lech Walesa (leader of Poland's anti-communist movement in the 1980s) on coming to the West observed: 'You have riches and freedom here, but I feel no sense of faith or direction. You have so many computers, why don't you use them in the search for love?'
These devices were sold to connect me. But all I had to do was pick some fruit, and share it.
Kester Brewin
In Galatians 5, Paul describes a life full of God as being characterised by fruitfulness; 'love, joy, peace, patience and kindness' will grow and be seen and enjoyed by others. With so many technologies alluding to nature in their logos and names, wouldn't it be good if, on returning from our holidays (or, if you're unable to log-off even while away, then even during your holiday), we had these biblical fruits in mind as we email and text our way through each day?
Extracted from Wise Traveller: Loss, published by Scripture Union, and used with their permission. The Wise Traveller anthologies bring original reflections, stories, poems and exercises together with Christian spiritual classics from across history to offer pathways and turning points for those seeking to deepen their appreciation of the spiritual in their lives.
Connecting with Culture returns after the summer break, on September 4
Links
Wise Traveller: Loss is one of a trilogy of books, along side Wise Traveller: Happiness and Wise Traveller: Relationships.
To view a sample of Wise Traveller: Loss, click here
To view a sample of Wise Traveller: Happiness, click here
To view a sample of Wise Traveller: Relationships, click here
To buy Wise Traveller titles, click here
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