A Silver Forest

Ten thousand buildings make a lovely silver forest
The builders were impressed by this metropolis
No green to be seen except in mouldy corners
The sun never reaches those in lower quarters

The trains rumble underground, helicopters hover
And neighbours shout over the noisy bulldozer
Black suited creatures scuffle in a line
Swarming little coffee shops to fill up the time

Children scrape their feet on the burning bitumen
Playing hide and seek and chasing the postman
Cars toot their horns as soccer balls roll
Kicked into a constructed telegraph goal

A walk through a door to a dreamlike oasis
Cool air, pot plants, drinks overflowing your chalice
Large paintings and sweet music suggest perfection
But dear could you please shut the door behind you?!

I am not a scientist

In the hemisphere I live in, it is winter right now. 5 layers of clothing, slippers everywhere, the clouds of steam with every breath. What I especially love is curling up right near the fireplace. Not only is it warm, but to me watching fire is an amazing thing.

Orange tentacles push against the glass, ripples spread over the burning embers, and for me, it looks like the fire is breathing.

Now you can get all sciencey on me and say that fire is just heat, some fuel, and oxygen all combusting and creating a chemical reaction, which emits light and heat energy. I have been to school long enough to know that fire isn't a monster and that it isn't alive. But once in a while I let my imagination run wild.

The point of this story is to show why I don't want to be a scientist. I look at fire and I see an animal; I look at a tree and marvel at its beauty; I look at the sky and just let its size engulf me. I don't mind its origins, its inner working, and its purpose left unexplained.

I respect scientists, and I know that without some people looking deeper into nature many good things in this world wouldn't have been invented. And I am happy to admit I am not someone like that.

I am so glad God has created everyone unique, with different skills, different ideas, and different futures so we can share and learn from each other. What skills has God given you?

A passionate tree

Today I heard someone say "It is such a beautiful day! Good job God!" and it stopped me in my tracks. I looked outside, to the sky, to the trees swaying with the wind, and noticed it was a good day. It was a day to be thankful for. It was a day where I could take a moment just to appreciate the fact that God had given me another good blessing in my life.

I was glad that someone made me noticed, because otherwise, it would have slipped away.

My title is "A passionate tree" because when I thought of the above, it caught my attention that my little acknowledgement of the beautiful day made life a little bit more fuller, more interesting. It could be said that it made me "Live life to the full" as Jesus wanted me to.

Many people think that passion is a feeling that naturally comes to you when what you are doing feels good. They aren't incorrect, but I think they have distorted a bit. I was challenged today that passion isn't just something natural, but something you can work for. You can make yourself passionate about something, even if at first it doesn't "click" with you.

Like my experience today, where I was jolted from my seat of dull living to a little more interesting life, I became passionate about appreciating God's gifts more.

A passionate tree never gets bored. In all it does, it exerts its best. It makes the dullest task an important mission, the most mundane life a life filled with blessings. It doesn't acquire any new items, it just learns to appreciate what it has, to live life properly, to the full.

Do I look like a weirdo looking up at the sky?

Another scene from the bus stop. I am again waiting for the bus, and since no one is waiting with me, I decide to look into the sky and marvel at God's creation. Anyway, if you think about it, that's what trees do don't they? Look upward to the sky, reaching for it with their leafy banches?

But, why? Why do I look into the cloudless mass of space above? Why does it leave me in awe? Why does it make me feel small? Why, why, why???

Before you know it, the wonderful serenity of the scene is crowded out by these logic missiles, stealing the scene from my heart, and placing it in my brain, dissecting it until there is just a pale shell of what I first experienced. Facts about the sky flood my brain, until all I see is what the textbook tells me what I should see, not what I actually see with my heart.

Society always wants answers. "There must be a reason to everything" I agree with this statement. There is a reason for everything. But sometimes, we don't have to know it. We lose so much when we try and "figure out" the meaning of things. I am so glad we still haven't got a definite "meaning of life", because like in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy it might turn out to be 42, squeezing all the life of a person in such a small number. All their experiences, their relationships, their knowledge, into an understandable little ball. Missing out on so much.

Look up into the sky, what do you see? A mass of air that is blue because blue is the colour most reflected by the water particles? Or an indescribable testimony to God's creativity, glory, and power? Leave the reasons to God, just look at something, and see how you can see God through it. Suddenly, life becomes much more interesting again.

Sadness only lasts for a week

Today's post might be a little controversial, but I am going to talk about sadness. What I want to say is that, sadness only really lasts for less than a week. Please read on, and comment if you have any objections to what I say.

I thought about this topic, because yesterday for me was quite distressing. I felt sad, and just wanted to disappear from this world. It felt like I had a huge weight on my shoulders, and it was pushing me down into the ground. I couldn't look up and see anything good in the world anymore. However, when I woke up after a good night's sleep, everything seemed ok again. I was still sad a little bit, but not in despair, and I could see the good things in life again.

Some people might think that my day must not have been that bad, or I wouldn't have had a good night's sleep! But even the people with really bad days, like someone who found out a family member had died, or someone with depression, I think can still see the good things in life after a while. I am not saying that people like that will not be in grief of their loss after only one week, but I think they can still smile when they see some of the good things in life, not totally rejecting them.

Some things I think could bring someone to smile even if they were in grief are such things as the beauty of nature, the strength of some of their friendships, and most importantly, the love and care of God. Even though they might be in despair, these things give them hope, and can make them look forward to the better future.

As I thought about trying to get some hope in a time of despair, I came up with the idea of setting up a page with photos that give hope, or encouragement. I hope that they might encourage you whenever you are in the dumps, and you can be hopeful about the future, where you will get better. Here is a photo, just to show you what it will be like.

Thanks for reading this post! I hope that you were encouraged to think about sadness and depression. Please comment if you liked it, or not, so I know who I am writing to!

treebytheriver