What the?????!!!!

 It's been a while since I last wrote anything here.  In that time there has been much of the 'stuff of life' going on. So much in fact I'm not sure where to start, what to say and what to leave unsaid.

Journeying with people as they begin married life, others who are laying loved ones to rest and hearing stories of injustices endured by indigenous peoples, and those who have endured loss due to decisions made to become the person they believe they are.

I often feel inadequate in many of the situations I find myself in, sometimes its a stranger who engages in conversation.

 One of those took place today.

As I was parking the bike a person approached as blurted out How can there be a God when the world is so shit??   (a reasonable question)

What followed was a comprehensive list of what is wrong with the world, conspiracy theories and the like.
The conversation, which was one sided, concluded with 'well I have enough of this shitty world, so everyday i throw myself in front of trucks and buses because I've had enough'.

Where is a person supposed to go after a conversation like that? (to the pub????)


So whether we ourselves are experiencing darker moments or we are journeying with others through dark times, may brighter days await us.


Sometimes the words of others best help us understand the darker times.
These words from an Elder at Parihaka (NZ)

After the shades os darkness comes the dusk of dawn, 
whilst  before lies the shimmering glory of a fair day.
(he maru ahiahi kei muri te
maru awatea he pakiarohhi kei Mia)

...then this line from a song called..we're all in this together

we're all in this together walking the line between faith and fear.....
(not sure of its origins but heard it on a cd by old Crow Medicine Show)




This from the good book in Psalms, read at a funeral recently.

He shall cover you with his feathers, under his wings shall you trust:his truth shall be your shield and *buckler.

(*a smaller shield fitted to the wrist for added protection?)