It All Depends Where You Are.

I promise not to bore you with running but I have to share this with you. Enjoying so much being back on the trail I decided to buy a running magazine. There was an article in it about the best 10 half marathons in the UK. They decided to describe them under three headings. What was good about it, where it was and lastly its downsides. To be expected most of them were in the south of England, but there were two listed from Scotland. The downsides of all the others were small things, like how tough it was. The two from Scotland had the same downside. They were a bit inaccessible and a long travel if you lived in the south of England. I could not believe so instantly penned a letter to them to tell them that from where I stood Bristol was exactly the same, a long way from Scotland.
There is a similar story of a Prime Minister, who shall remain nameless, but he has been in the news a lot recently,

The Minister travelled for days by train and car and boat to one of the furthest islands in Scotland As he surveyed the bleak but inspiring landscape, he turned to a local villager and said: "You're very remote here, aren't you?" She responded: "Remote from what?"

We who have gardens, and I am aware many of you have, can so easily become obsessed with weeds, especially if they are in your lawn. A man who took great pride in his lawn found himself with a large crop of dandelions. He tried every method he knew to get rid of them. Still they plagued him.

Finally he wrote to the Department of Agriculture. He enumerated all the things he had tried and closed his letter with the question: "What shall I do now?"

In due course, the reply came: "We suggest you learn to love them."

Every single thing that happens to us in life always has more than one perspective. Nobody should know that more than the artist. It all depends which perspective we choose to take. I already know that if and when Susan reads this morning she is going to fully agree. How do I know that? Because she is a lady that is so upbeat about life she cannot help telling us to always look for the good in everything, and she is so right.

I have written so many of these blogs now I cannot remember if I have told you the old Native American tale of the two wolves. Whether I have or not it is worthy today of hearing one more time.

There was an old American Native Chief who was talking to his grandson. He told him, "I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is the vengeful, angry, violent one. The other wolf is the loving, compassionate one."

The grandson asked him, "Which wolf will win the fight in your heart?"

The grandfather answered: "The one I feed."

So which wolf will you chose to feed. I will try my very best to feed the good one but I know I must always be on guard because the other one has a crafty knack of slipping in there and grabbing my attention.

Beware of hungry wolves

Have a great day.

This Blog is linked to my other. Jackie

It is Good

While gardening in my plot I was aware of the number of leeks I still had not harvested, over eighty still had to be dug. Talking to person who has the neighbouring plot I bemoaned the fact that I had so many. “This is good,” said she, “I have none, so I can have a few of yours.” This I was happy to do and also made me aware of the many other friends I had who might enjoy a fresh grown leek. “What is more,” said my friend, “you have no Jerusalem artichokes so I can give you some of those in return.” So I enjoyed those and a great many people in the village are even now making leek and potato soup.


There is a story of two friends, one who was an emperor and the other who no matter what happened always declared, “This is good.” One day the two were out hunting, the friend loaded the rifle of the emperor who shot it and in the process shot off his thumb. “This is good said the friend.” “How can you say that,” yelled the emperor? “How can you say that when I have lost a thumb and I am bleeding badly?”

The emperor was so angry he put his friend in prison. About a year later the emperor went hunting again, this time on his own. He was captured by a clan of marauding cannibals. They tied him up and trussed him to a stake. Just before they set light to the fire to cook him for eating they noticed he was missing a thumb. This particular tribe did not believe in eating anything that was not whole so let him go free.

The emperor rushed home and went straight to the jail. “It was good my losing my thumb,” he said to his friend. He told how it had saved his life. He also told him how sorry he was that he had put him in jail. “I feel so bad about that,” he said “No, not at all it is good,” said the friend. “If I had not been in jail they would have eaten me.”

So what does this tell us? It simply tells us this. “It is good.” When we as artists think we have hit a disaster area and all is wrong, look again, it may be good. When it is wrong, that is good because it is a wonderful learning opportunity. For all of us no matter what happens, remember, “It is good.”

This is the way of Tao.


The story of the choice of art can be seen at:- T in The Park