Abundance

Reflections on Jesus feeding the 4000 (Mark 8: 1-10)

The performing of a miracle in this passage is well known but it wasn't this as such that caught my attention when looking at it recently. To me, this was a parable about the earth having sufficient resources to supply our needs if they are well managed and administered. The desire to be fed is a basic human need and here we have a large crowd who, having followed Jesus for several days, were no doubt hungry - hungry on several levels: spiritually, physically and certainly hungry out of curiosity. For me, this was an opportunity for Jesus to be a spiritual symbol of the earth that sustains all life. Here, He is able to produce and provide food for those around Him. The loaves and the fish become a sacred embodiment of the body of Jesus that is shared amongst others. This is a Communion service.  The food becomes a symbol of life, faith and of the provision of sustenance. It is a sign of the miraculous wonder of the ability of the earth around us to feed its people. All people are fed by the disciples and there is more that is leftover. This provision of food is well managed. It is amazing that a little can be so very productive and satisfying. This mirrors many ecological or garden habitats and permaculture ideas where the productivity of small area of land can be very high if well managed. This is a lesson against global exploitation and resource depletion.

A concurrent thought flowing along side this for me was about a 'Jesus Supermarket' mentality. Jesus is often seen as The leader, The answer to all problems, The answer to the provision of all our needs. Just like a big shopping trip to a local supermarket where we can buy all that we need to sustain us in our consumerist lifestyle, so we can see Jesus as performing a similar function. This can be good as long as we keep a healthy perspective. Sometimes it can be good to step away from an expectation of getting all we need, to put away the shopping list of requests and take a different look at what it is we really want or need.

Rocket Stove Casserole

After a good month or more of dry weather, the past few days have been very warm and sunny. Just right for a bit of garden cooking. I have been wanting to make a Rocket Stove for ages and yesterday was an ideal day. My supplies of waste wood around the garden were dry and a good supply of old bricks was all I needed. The web is awash with images and principles of rocket stoves, so I won't expand here,  but basically it was a matter of building a brick 'chimney' with a opening at the base into which wood is fed. The fire draws air though this hole and supposedly burns very efficiently.

Using an old wok I cooked a pork in cider casserole and the stove worked surprisingly well, considering I had never made one or seen one in action before. Keeping it constantly fed meant I had to make quick dashes to the kitchen to prepare the food. Once the bricks had warmed up it seemed to generate quite a reasonable amount of heat and the casserole bubbled away nicely, though I did cover the wok with foil to ensure the meat did cook properly. The design could be made more efficient by sealing in the gaps between the bricks and creating more of a space for ash to accumulate.

Where have I been?

Here I am in the middle of June and this blog seems so distant to me. I have written so little this year because my energy seems to need to be directed elsewhere.

Work is thoroughly rewarding and challenging and I do enjoy it but it has been demanding and it has taken me a while to settle into the new working environment from a psychological point of view. It has been mentally tiring at times and settling into a balance is taking time. My hands have been troubled with RSI and I am having to work hard with self-physiotherapy to calm things down. This has meant that I have been unwilling to use my hands for typing at home. Thankfully, I am now much better and none of my work has been affected.

Much to my annoyance, I also seem to have been afflicted with periods of deep anxiety and I am hopefully overcoming this with exercise, meditation and self-awareness exercises. It all seems pathetic really as all I am doing is well within my ability but, again, I feel as though I am trying to find a balance.

My back went on me a few weeks ago and so I am trying to get that back in order too.

This seems to have been a Spring of readjustment and mental struggle to the new situation in which I find myself.

My Permaculture Course is superb and I now have only one more weekend in July to complete.

The vegetables in the garden are doing well but I am not sure if I will continue with the allotment as I can't put much effort into it. The garden is easy to micro-manage whereas the allotment is a small drive away and not quite so easy to visit. I will re-evaluate it at the end of the year.

I've been out with my drum to various locations: a drumming group, the hills of Herefordshire, my permaculture course and the garden summerhouse.

Blessings.

Principles of Permaculture

I have begun my Permaculture Design course which will last for six weekends from now until July.

In the first introductory weekend I learnt about 12 principles of Permaculture which can be applied to any system - ecological, horticultural or social:

• Integrate rather than segregate


• Observe and Interact


• Use small and slow solutions


• Design from patterns to details


• Apply self-regulation and accept feedback


• Use and value renewable resourcesd and services


• Use edges and value the marginal


• Obtain a yield


• Use and value diversity


• Produce no waste


• Creatively use and respond to change

Healing Trees; Wheelbarrows and Frustration

Eeee, what a week!

Yesterday's 'Butterfly Effect' blog was inspired by the first part of a bike ride that I went on. Whilst on my way back and in a fairly relaxed mode my thoughts seemed to be overtaken by a very negative and worry based set of thoughts that followed me for a good couple of miles. Although I was happy to be out on the bike I found it hard to disengage my mind from this deep time of anxiety. It annoyed me because it was upsetting my day and, although I am not going to mention what it was about, I knew that all I was trying to do was sort something out and deal with how I react to situations I find myself in.

As neared home I passed by a close group of four old oak trees and I could almost say I felt them call to me to stop and visit them. I did so and was immediately overwhelmed by a deep sense of peace and beauty that instantly lifted the deep anxiety I was facing. I only stayed with them a few minutes as people then kept walking by and there is only so much hanging around trees one can do without beginning to feel rather self-conscious! But I left feeling totally different.

* * *

Today, whilst out in the car, I passed a large pile of fly-tipping on a local country lane. I spotted amongst the builder's rubbish an old wheelbarrow. I stopped and retrieved the old, rusty item and took it home. Although it had a puncture and was a little worse for wear, I actually had a decent wheelbarrow for the odd few occasions when one would be useful around our garden. I also picked up a large good quality plastic bucket.

* * *

I am not going to dwell on it, but, eee by gum, I don't half feel a bit frustrated, emotional and fed up at times. This summer and autumn has been quite full of it (I blame it on the Resurgence weekend away - I laugh!). This weekend hasn't been good. Perhaps I have just been tired, very busy at work and not feeling I am being creative, networky or social out of work. Perhaps I am being too hard on myself.

Want to go back to Dartmoor again. Haven't been there since last Christmas.

A Challenge in Recycling

I didn't quite manage to make a wendy house for nothing, but for probably less than £40, I almost managed to do it. Using old pallets and chipboard from work, other odd bits of wood lying around the house and a pile of nails handed down from my Father I had tried to make a outdoor playhouse for my daughter for nothing. In the end I had to buy some timber for the framework, roofing felt and, most expensively of all, paint.

The design had been circulating round my mind for several months but once I begun to build it, it seemed to find its own way of how it wanted to be constructed. With a dryish forecast and a bank holiday weekend ahead of me, I set to work armed with a couple of saws, and electric jigsaw and jars of assorted nails. I think it took around 12 hours in total, and there are still a few finishing touches to be added, such as a proper opening window, decorated eaves, a letter box, shelves and anything else that may be neccessary or requested by the little one!

It has been a success with my daughter taking to it with glee. It makes an excellent shop, with the window being the selling counter for ice cream, cakes, cusions and soft toys. I wish I had made it a bit bigger as it is a bit of a squash when we both sit inside but I didn't want to take over the garden or push myself too much. It was hard work, but great to see the result!

Oh, mouldy compost heaps!

The Permaculture course I was planning to go on in May and June has had to be cancelled. Now what's all that about then? I had been wanting to go on one for several years and it would have been wonderful, and so close to home. Oh well, perhaps there is something else lined up for me this summer...

Sitting on a Sunny Bench

The title is just an analogy for me just taking a few moments to add a few lines here. It's a bit like being on a long walk and finding a nice comfy wooden bench, bathed in early spring sunshine, and just sitting down to rest one's weary feet for a few minutes.

I am pondering a Post on being"Slow"... when I can get some space to write it!

Ah yes, the universe has been good to me. I have found a local Permaculture course which starts in May. I didn't quite jump up and down all day long with excitement, but I could have done. It will take quite a time commitment over three months but, having read around the subject for several years, it seems an amazing thing to find nearly on my doorstep. Can't wait!!!

Hands are bit tired at the moment from all the house decorating and a large amount of computer work, so typing Posts is not a priority.

Oh, poo - another lunchtime gone...