Habemus papam

"Habemus papam", a phrase which caught the imagination even of my daughter, why the excitement? Well I was moved for 4 reasons:

1. A sense of humour; "why did the cardinals search for me so far away" and also before going to the balcony: Are you sure you did make a mistake!
2. Reciting the Our Father  and the Hail Mary in Latin  we need a universal language in this complex mixed world.I am not supplicating for Latin but think we need one, and Latin has been around for a while.
3. Taking the name of St Francis, a saint close to my heart and who should be close to all of us, so powerful is his message of rebuilding and strengthening through love and compassion. And living a life of compassion, humility....
4. Humility; a pope who does not use official cars, but takes the bus and metro, politicians could learn from this.

I pray that this pope will bring all christians alive and realise we have the tools to make our lives and of those of us around us so joyful. long live uncomplicated joy in life, long live sharing, long live humility to realise we are not the best, not the only ones, we need to share and be together

New year and a fresh start

This new year started with a long illness, which forced me to reconsider my life and the positions I had adopted, some through stubbornness and others through false pride. Nothing better than to pass some time in bed with the world around you continuing, to reflect and come across yourself! Where previously I was sure my position was right, I was no longer so sure.
The saying that sometimes you don't see the wood for the trees seemed very apt to reflect my stance. My life was bogged down, atrophied. As I was thinking, I remember praying for God to send me some guidance. Just when everything seemed at its most unmovable  God send me a reminder that life is and can be extremely simple, that human relationships can untie the knots that strangle them. that with patience and love even the most improbably difficult situations can be untangled.
So what is my advice, if someone you love is not able to move and you have seemingly exhausted all possibilities?  Try a sideways move. I am very direct (too direct, perhaps!) in my dealings with people and sometimes a frontal discussion is not the best. If I can contain my natural impatience (and this is best achieved by prayer, which immediately reminds me of my humble self), and let go, astounding things happen and the result is so much better.
Reading the new testament with my daughter, she pointed out to me that Jesus always holds out his hand to reach out to us, we just need to take it.
This is my new year's resolution. happy new year!