When asked if I believe in an afterlife, I ‘almost’ say no; I don’t think there’s a heaven or a hell, and I don’t think we come back – but there have been occasions when my psyche/soul (same thing to me) has seemed not entirely subject to the laws of space and time. To ignore these glimpses would be untrue – but to acknowledge them opens the possibility of some kind of continued psychical existence after death – which feels too remote to ponder. Navigating this life is enough.
I spent between ages 17 and 19 at a Catholic seminary, where I diligently considered a life of prayer and meditation: ‘mystical’ in the sense of concerned with spiritual rather than material things. My subconscious ‘control module’ (which makes such decisions) steered away from this path but left an enduring respect for the mystical life. When I look at this picture, probably an ‘awakened’ Buddhist monk, I have no doubt he is in a place which transcends much of life’s turbulence.
While in a restaurant this week with a good friend, I’m unable to attract the waiter’s attention, and lose my temper. My friend shows concern – says that my agitation in these circumstances is often widely disproportionate – that I should look at why. I now intend to trace the origin of the joyful monk’s image – have it enlarged into a framed picture. My hope is that this chap smiling from the mantelpiece, will transmit some of his ‘stillness’ to me – calm my impatience. I don’t aspire to mysticism, just basic good manners.
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As I’ve been repeating for years, Holyrood, along with Scotland’s 32 municipal councils has actively prevented the creation of a natural tier of democracy at a community level; in all Europe, Scottish citizens are the most remote from elected representation. And yet now, when it suits, our elected politicians are urging that our response to both the pandemic and the climate crisis, should be planned around community level organisations, economies, capacities – the very capacity they not only ignore but resist. Such a confused strategy. Lesley Riddoch, who was herself involved in the community buy-out of Eigg, has written a great close-up piece on the benefits of a community owning the land they live and work on: planet saving lessons.
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“Here ends the West’s grotesque delusion that it could use its military might to turn Afghanistan into a stable democracy”; Polly Toynbee’s Guardian piece takes the line that western hubris has been exposed. While the lessons from this tragic episode will continue to unfold – it re-enforces, that invading another country, for whatever reasons, rarely end well.
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I am most encouraged by the work of Scottish Govt towards how a ‘Minimum Income Guarantee’ could be designed, costed and delivered. The high cost of this measure would impact on all of us, and will require a shift in attitude which hasn’t happened yet – but I get the sense that a truly revolutionary change is under consideration – is underway.
This longer read in the New Yorker, asks if humans could enjoy prosperity without economic growth; most people have still to transition from the capitalist model of grow, grow, grow. This shorter read is about two ‘predictive’ young women crofting in the Cairngorms, living the balance between money, and the wealth of their lifestyle.
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This Conversation piece references research to determine whether sugar is addictive for humans. Some people trying to cut back report negative side-effects (headaches, mood changes etc) which are poorly understood; something to do with the ‘reward chemical’ dopamine, released into our brains. I can’t believe that science still questions sugar’s addictive effects.
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Herman Hesse, 1877-1962, was a German-Swiss writer whose work explored our inner life. His times knew nothing of brain science; he claimed his ‘inner destiny’ was of his own making.
“If what matters in a person’s existence is to accept the inevitable consciously, to taste the good and bad to the full and to make for oneself a more individual, unaccidental and inward destiny alongside one’s external fate, then my life has been neither empty nor worthless. Even if, as it is decreed by the gods, fate has inexorably trod over my external existence as it does with everyone, my inner life has been of my own making. I deserve its sweetness and its bitterness and accept full responsibility for it.”
