JC's helper: First day back...

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

First day back...

I am not a photographer but I managed to snap this little chap yesterday. I love these Fantails.

I have just arrived home from my first day back at work after my recovery from a TURP operation. It has been so far a nine hour day and I must admit to being weary. I have spent over three hours in chaplaincy work, one and a half hours in a meeting of ministers and the rest of the time in preparation for next Sunday's church service, sorting out emails and tidying up my office at the Church. I have been reminded that listening to people is very tiring.
I did enjoy the three weeks off and did some things there that I must build into my life.

On most days I managed a walk. I was not allowed to do strenuous exercise but I did walk at a reasonable pace for nearly an hour and sometimes longer. I found even in that short time, just walking I was getting fitter, and it gave me time to think. I need to build this or other exercise into my life nearly every day.
I did a lot of reading. I read some good books on spirituality and theology. It was refreshing. I do quite a bit of reading in preparation for each Sundays service. Also I have always tried to keep up with reading new directions and thought. Most often though my reading has been last thing at night while having my cup of "Horlicks" in bed. I think I need to re-affirm to myself that such reading is a part of my job and claim time during work hours to do reading.

So I have gone back to work with these two aims. To exercise more regularly, even if it is just to walk regularly. Secondly to build more reading time into my life. I'll let you know how I get on.

Fantail...

This little Fantail came around our backdoor yesterday. He seemed to follow me down to the clothes line. I came inside and got my camera and he was still around. I love these birds. Walking in the bush they will sometimes seem to go along side of you flying from tree to tree, waiting for you to catch up then flying to the next, chirping all the time.

2 comments:

Bricky said...: I read somewhere that fantails give the impression of friendliness by following people, but in fact they are feeding on midges and other insects which are the real people-followers. I've no idea whether or not this is correct, so I'm sorry if I've shattered your warm and fuzzy perception, Dave!; April 9, 2013 at 1:46 PM
Dave Brown said...: You cynical man you! I'm such a nice guy they follow me. I am shattered! :-( Actually I had heard that.. the walker disturbs the midges etc. and the fantails are just greedy opportunists. I like my theory best, I even talk to them and they talk back. It could be that they're just telling their mates there's free tucker going around this crazy human.; April 9, 2013 at 8:36 PM

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The Blog's title

I am a Workplace Chaplain to the NZ fireservice.

At the firestation every time one man sees me he yells, "Here comes JC's helper!". I guess I am happy to be called just that... "Jesus' helper". I am a follower of Jesus.
A a quote from Dave Andrews in his book, "Not Religion but Love".
"Being a devotee of Jesus is not a matter of subscribing to a certain set of dogmas, obeying rules and regulations, and getting others to subordinate themselves to them.

The essence of being a devotee of Jesus is to live in sympathy with God as Jesus did; feeling the throb of God's heartbeat, and teaching our hearts to learn to beat in sync with the love that sustains the universe.

It means developing our capacity to sense intuitively what causes love pleasure, and what causes love pain, and doing everything we can to enhance the pleasure, and diminish the pain."

I love this charter.

The Charter for Compassion

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensable to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.