The Donkey Road

There is a race that takes place once a year in the little village of Aberdour. It is called the Donkey Brae Race. I have taken part in it and it is a marvellous race with some lovely coastal views and a high section on the coastal path where on a windy day you have to fight the wind to stay on the path. 

I was thinking of this the other day there when I read somewhere that mountain venturers took donkeys to help them to reach the summit. Each "climber," had a donkey to help him/her reach the top.

I have climbed many mountains and ran up and down as many as I have walked up. I have ventured to the summits of many entirely on my own and had some nerve tingling experiences in the process. Taking what I thought might be a shorter route and ending up in places I would rather not have been with my bottom hanging over very deep and frightening drops.

The summits of mountains never leave me anything other than pleased that I have made the effort. Not everybody feels the same way some think that it was not worth the bother. 

Those who took donkeys to help them arrive on reaching the summit left the donkeys, no longer needed, to find their own way back down.

It is very much like life. We are all on a journey and we all have a destination in mind. We might travel different paths and have differing helps to assist us on the journey. 

The donkeys of life. For some that might be a Christain Faith for other Islamic, yet others might travel the with the Zen donkey or the Taoist, possibly even the Agnostic. Like the mountain climber, there are many routes to the summit. 

Each has there own aims means and some idea of their destination. Sadly so often one pokes fun at the route of the other. Some take the high and mighty stance of believing their way is the only way and all others are wrong.

The destination is what really matters and like the climber's donkeys, the way is no longer need once we have arrived. 

The journey towards peace and happiness and a sense of fulfilment can be made in many ways. Does it really matter what route we decided to take if it leads to the destination, the summit? 

Maybe the way would be easier if we each respected the others right to make their own decisions on the route and way of travel. There may be times when we need a little help of another needs our help. All of us have a destination in mind and travel by another route, but it would be better to make the journey without feeling the need to force others to follow the same path.

I rejoice in the many friends that I have from all sorts of places and they all have their individual donkeys of life and I am grateful for the joy they give me on the journey. 

Have a wonderful day and I hope that the person who asked me to write this has found it helpful.  For all my fellow Scots Happy St Andrews Day.

Winter.

I keep being told that we are in for a bad winter. I remember my grandmother used to have all sorts of old wives tales about the prediction of a good or bad winter.

If the rowan trees were thick with berries it was a sure sign that the winter that was to come would be a really bad one. I always thought that the number of berries on trees and bushes had more to do with the summer and autumn weather. had they been such that they promoted good crops.

What exactly is a bad winter and what is a good winter?  I have heard stories of the temperature getting so cold that the rain that had gathered in the boughs of trees froze so solid that the tree split right down the middle. 

I remember one winter  I had been asked to conduct a funeral for the mother of a member of my church. The funeral was to take place in the village of her birth. On the day of the funeral as we drove towards the village the snow got worse and worse. By the time we arrived it was up to the roofs of the cars. I remember saying to the funeral attendant, "This is one place I would never want to be living." 

Two weeks later I was invited to become the minister of this very parish.  I had promised myself I would never refuse an invitation to serve, but I thought things could not get worse. I, therefore, accepted the invitation and ended up in the very place I had said I never wanted to be.

The following winter I had a young man doing community service with me. This was instead of serving a prison sentence. It was called community payback. There had been a heavy fall of snow so in what I thought was an act of thought and care I asked him if he would clear a path from my door to the church gate. I said when he was finished no matter how much time it had taken he was free to go. 

He refused. Said he was not shovelling snow in those conditions. I told him to just go home then.  of course, I had to say in the weekly report that he had refused to do a task that later took me only half an hour. 

The next week I was visiting the prison where I was the chaplain. There he was clearing a pathway from the gate to the front door of the prison. 

I asked him if he might not have been better clearing my snow and going home to his family rather than his cell?

There are times when things are bad and misfortune comes our way but with the correct attitude, we can make sure that things do not get worse. 

The parish I had said I did not ever want to be in ended up to be a ministry I enjoyed and counted as a positive part of my life, far from my initial reaction to being there.

The first day of winter is not only the start of a long seemingly dismal time it is also the first day of us heading to the onward march towards spring.

Some of us dislike winter others find the snow and cold a refreshing experience. It is an attitude of life matter. Nothing ever only gets worse, there are limits to all things. 

There is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes for the weather we have. But there may be those who have no option and maybe we have the power to change even that. 

Have a wonderful winters day. Yes I know some of my readers are in the middle of summer, enjoy your sun, winter will surely come. 

Grasp the day and make it the best that you can.

The unsolvable problem.

 

I am not a jealous person, not in the least, but I often feel a tinge when I see people who seem to get out of bed each day and everything go so simply and easily for them for the rest of the day, never a fret or a worry. I, on the other hand, am constantly striving each day to produce or do something that makes me feel that it has been all worth the thought and the struggle. 

Now life got even more problematic when it came to solving a math problem. Against all the trends of those who had difficulty with reading and writing yet could do math with ease I seemed to be unable to manage either. So I rejoice that I later in life managed to overcome some of those difficulties but the math still escapes me.

So for those of you who enjoy a problem to solve here is one piece of math I have understood.

Long ago, there lived an old man with his three sons in a deserted village, located in the vicinity of a desert. He had 17 camels, and they were the main source of his income. He used to rent out camels as a means of shipping in the desert. 

One day, he died. He had left a will, leaving his assets for his three sons. 

After the funeral and the other obligations were over, the three sons read the will. While their father had divided all the property he had into three equal parts, he had divided the 17 camels in a different way. They were not shared equally, not that would have been easy, among the three.  As ‘17’ is an odd number and a prime number, it cannot be divided or shared equally by three.

The old man had stated that the eldest son will own half of the 17 camels, the middle one will get one-third of the 17 camels, and the youngest one will get his share of camels as one-ninth! 

All of them were stunned to read the will and questioned each other how to divide the 17 camels as mentioned in the will. It is not possible to divide 17 camels and give half of the 17 camels to the eldest one. It is not possible either to divide the camels for the other two sons. 

They spent several days thinking of ways to divide the camels as mentioned in the will, but none could find the answer.

They finally took the issue to the wise man of their village. 

The wise man heard the problem and instantly found a solution. He asked them to bring all the 17 camels.

The sons brought the camels to the wise man’s place. The wise man added a camel owned by himself and made the total number of camels 18.

Now, he asked the first son to read the will. As per the will, the eldest son got half the camels, which now  18, divide this by 2 and you have 9 camels! The eldest one got 9 camels as his share.

The remaining camels were 9.

The wise man asked the second son to read the will. He was assigned 1 / 3 of the total camels.

It again 18 this time divided by 3 equals  6 camels. The second son got 6 camels as his share.

The total number of camels shared by the elder sons being 9 + 6 equalled 15 camels.

The third son read out his share of camels: 1 / 9th of the total number of camels 18 divided by 9 equals 2 camels.

The youngest one got 2 camels as his share.

Together in total, there were 9 + 6 + 2 camels shared by the brothers, which added to  17 camels.

Now, the one camel added by the wise man was taken back.

The wise man solved this problem smartly with his intelligence. 

Intelligence is nothing but finding a common ground to solve an issue. Given time and help and some thought every problem has a solution. 

Have a wonderful problem free day. If you get stuck I know a friend who might be able to help you out.

A sign of the times.

I have a real love of wild places and the magic of hills mountains and rivers. But I am aware that such placedo not just happen, they are there because of the things that we do or do not do.

So it is with great sadness that I learn the there are to be cutbacks in the number of preople employed by the forestry commission. There will also be less rangers employed to assist and look after the wildlife. 

That the policy of recent years to plant a variety of trees and not just fast growing pine is to be reveresed. Financial restraints has brought about such desicions.

Without getting political I feel that such deciesins are not only sort sighted but will be a huge backward step.

Sadly those who I have spoken to about this seem not to see it as a problem. 

So it was with a heavy heart that I walked yesterday and looked around at the beauty I have on my doorstep. Fortunately the estate where I was walking is not owned by a government agency and they will continue to follow the way they have been managing the estate.

My heart was lifted by this thought and further lifted when I remembered the book of messages left in a little bothy where people could seek overnight shelter. 

I share them with you and hope they start the week with a little smile and thought for the wonder around us.

A small deer came into my camp and stole my bag of pickles.  Is there a way I can get reimbursed? 

Escalators would help on steep uphill sections. 

Trails need to be wider so people can walk while holding hands.

 
Found a smouldering cigarette left by a horse.

Trails need to be reconstructed. Please avoid building trails that go uphill. 

Too many bugs, spiders and spider webs. Please spray the wilderness to rid the area of these pests. Surely this would not be difficult.

Chairlifts need to be in some places so that we can get to wonderful views without having to hike to them. 

The wild animals made too much noise last night and kept me awake. Please eradicate these annoying animals. 

Need more signs to keep area pristine. 

A McDonald's would be nice at the top of this beautiful spot

. 
Too many rocks in the mountains. 

The places where trails do not exist are not well marked. 

Ah well I suppose we all see life differently and this is waht make it all so interesting. 

Have a wonderful day. 

Ubuntu

If I ever learned anything as a teacher it was the art of respect. Ever student given to me to encourage and help them in those things that might be useful to them in their future lives was worthy of my respect.

I had watched some fellow teachers who acted as if education would be a great job if they did not have to deal with teenagers. The school was a lovely place to be when there were no students present. They treated students as if they were an encumbrance that had to be put up with. 

I saw education as a sharing process. I would share with them the knowledge I had gained over my years and they, in turn, would teach me the ways of youth that had changed so much since I was their age. In the process, we grew together and respected each other. Maybe this was why I enjoyed teaching.

A group of college students had decided that the practical part of their university course would be fulfilled by educating the children of a tribal people. 

The children lived a village located on a hill. The Tribal people had inhabited the hill and the surrounding areas for centuries. The villagers and children were illiterate and knew nothing about education. 

Hence, that particular village was chosen. 

The student group reached the top of the hill and were met by a couple of men from the village.  The tribes lived happily with no use of equipment, modern facilities, etc. 

They were kind and welcoming and made the students feel at home.

They explained to the head of the village about their intention to educate the children. 

The chief, in turn, told the villagers and they seemed happy to hear about it. 

The next day students gathered the children and created a tuition schedule for teaching them. 

However, the students pushed themselves very hard to motivate them and initiate their education. They did many tricks, but only a few kids responded well. 

One student gave one chocolate to every child. The children loved the chocolate, they had never eaten chocolate before. 

Seeing this the students announced a competition. They placed a box full of chocolates near a tree, at a distance of 200 meters. They planned to conduct a race to motivate the children. 

The children were asked to stand in order. 

One of the students announced that the child who runs fast and reaches first would get all chocolates.

Another student then prepared them for the race and said, "Ready steady go."

But what happened then was a pure bliss! The students were quite astonished and moved by the act of the children. 

All children held the hands of the child who stood next to them. They ran towards the chocolate box holding each other hands. 

There was only one winner and it was all the children. They all sat happily sharing the chocolates among them. 

One of the students asked the tribal children, to explain why they had acted in such a way?  

One of them replied, "UBUNTU!"

They went to the chief and asked him to explain to them the meaning of UBUNTU

He told them that it  meant,  "When others are sad, how can you stay happy?"

Translated it meant,  "We represent what I am!" 

The students were touched! 

Who was it that day was the educators and who were the educated?

We are never too old to learn from others and the age of the educator can be any age. Everday is a school day.

Have a wonderful day of learning. 

"If you google UBUNTU you will see it is the name of an operating system for computers. "

Let go the rope.

There are many times when I am out walking with others that I hear them asking me or telling me to keep back from the edge. This frequently happens when I am probably in no danger whatsoever but those with me remember the time when I took a head dive from a very narrow path and fell down into a deep ravine.

That night still lives vividly in my memory. I can remember the moment of slipping and the many thoughts that rushed through my brain between the top and the bottom.It was one of those life flashing before me moments, but it was a life-changing moment. 

Life changing in that I awoke the next morning and my hair had turned white overnight. Between the top and the bottom, I had decided to give up being a minister. I had not decided what I was going to do instead but I knew that my days in the ministry had come to an end. 

Maybe my walking companions do not want to be with me through another such life-changing time?

This brought back memories of the tale, a true tale, of another man climbing a mountain. 

The night fell heavy on the heights of the mountains and the man could not see anything. There was zero visibility; the moon and the stars were covered by the clouds.

When he was just a few feet below the top of the mountain, he slipped and fell into the air, falling at great speed. He could see only black spots as he went down, and feel the terrible sensation of being sucked in by gravity.

He kept falling, and in those moments of great fear, all the good and bad episodes of his life came to his mind. He was thinking now about how close death was getting when all of a sudden he felt the rope tied around his waist pull him very hard. 

His body was hanging in the air. Only the rope was holding him. 

In that moment of stillness, he had no choice other than to scream, “Somebody help me.”

All of a sudden, a deep voice coming from above answered, “What do you want me to do?”

“Save me”

“Do you really think I can save you?”

“Of course, I believe you can.”

“Then cut the rope tied to your waist.”

There was a moment of silence. The moment passed, and the man decided to hold on to the rope with all his strength.

The rescue team says that the next day, the climber was found dead and frozen, his body hanging from a rope, and his hands holding it tight. He was only one foot away from the ground.

How attached are we to our ropes? Will we let them go?

Sometimes we just have to make decisions in life that are not easy to make. Often we hold onto the rope that stops us making the decision and we stay stuck in the same routine that is bringing us down.

Taking the easy path is not always the correct path. 

Have a wonderful day.

  

On seeing my boots.

A person stands in their own shadow and wonders why it is dark.

I walked twice yesterday so did not get around to doing much else at all. That said it was a beautiful way to spend my day although my legs might not be agreeing with me this morning. 

How did it happen? I went walking in the morning in the woodland not far from where I live. it is possible to walk for miles and it is possible to have a fairly flat route or a very hilly one. Yesterday I chose the latter. We had a little snowfall during the walk and then the sun came out and we could see the full glory of autumn. So almost four seasons in one morning. 

Having walked for almost three hours I came home and ran a warm bath. Just at that my good friend arrived and suggested a walk. So I got my walking gear back on and we made for the door. 

My friend needed to pop home and change his jacket and shoes. During this, he showed me his new shoes and told me how wonderfully comfortable they were. 

This, of course, got me looking at his shoes and then the walking boots he was putting on. I also looked at the shoes I was wearing and thought of the boots I had walked in that morning. 

As is my want my mind went off on a tangent. What might these shoes/boots be saying

Here are some ideas that came to mind.

There is life after boot camp!

Be sure to take all the steps necessary for success.

Haven’t we been down this road before?

Hey, have you ever heard of a shoehorn? If it doesn’t fit, don’t try to force it.

I already have one foot in the door. I’m a shoe-in.

I don’t know if I’m ever going to fit in.

I’ve been sole searching for so long!

I’ve seen plenty of fancy socks in my day, let me tell you.

Is life always this straight-laced?

Is there still room for growth?  

Life is not meant to be lived on a shelf. Go out, and be yourself!

Never judge a shoe by the leather. It is the sole inside that matters.  

Pacing yourself saves you from wearing out too fast.

People that can’t make up their minds are flip-flops.  

Polishing shoes are just for appearances. Polishing your Character is an inside job.
Some days you just feel like dancing. 🙂

Some soles really leave an impression on you.

Sometimes I feel like such a heel.

Sometimes I get tongue-tied.

Substance is more important than style.

The road of life sure can leave you scuffed up.

Try this on for size? Sometimes, one-size-fits-all really doesn’t work.

Words you’ll never hear from my tongue… “Act your age, not your shoe size.”

I know I have far too much time on my hands. Maybe I need to do something more productive with my life. 

Never mind I was glad that my friends' shoes fit like a glove but I did think it might have been better if they had fitted like a shoe. 

Go on smile. have a great day. 

The Echoes of Life.

I walked in the heavy rain with low lying clouds this created a lovely light and atmosphere. Away in the distance, I could hear the roar of the stags performing their rutting chorus. It was coming from behind me yet echoing up the glen I was scaling. A marvellous ethereal sound.

This made me think of the tale of the blacksmith, my father in law was such a blacksmith. 

There once lived a very skilled blacksmith in ancient Rome. His name and fame had spread to far-off nations. His creations began to be desired because of the quality of workmanship. He became so well known that his crafts sold far and wide.

One day, Rome was suddenly invaded. The invaders demolished Rome, and captured the top hundred citizens. Amongst the top hundred citizens, the blacksmith was considered one of value. 

All of them were handcuffed and chained and were taken and left on a faraway hill to die or await their execution. Among the 100 prisoners, 99 were crying. Only the blacksmith seemed to be calm and composed. He knew that the moment the soldiers abandon him in the hill, he would easily unlock the handcuff and the chains. He had that skill. 

So, the moment the soldiers left the first thing he did was to look at the handcuffs and chains that imprisoned him. He was shocked with what he saw. 

With his handcuffed hands he started beating his chest and began to wail in remorse. What did he see in the handcuff and the chains? A very strange thing which he had never imagined he would ever see in his Life! 

He had a habit to emboss his signature on whatever he created. And that is what he saw on those chains and handcuffs, his own signature. They were his creations, which had been sold in some far-off marketplace, and eventually had come back to him through the invaders. 

Now, for the first time, he became nervous. He knew it was impossible for him to unlock himself because he had never created anything weak. He was well acquainted with his creations. He had always designed and created the strongest and the best objects. Obviously, he had never imagined or dreamt that the handcuffs and the chains he had created, would one day imprison him. 

The sage teaches us the moral of this story thus: “No man ever foresees the fact that the chain and handcuffs he has been creating, will be the very chain and handcuffs of which he’ll be ultimately held captive. 

No man ever dreams that that the cobwebs he has been weaving are the very webs that he will eventually get entangled in, in his Life.”

One way or the other. 

If you are kind to people. Kindness pervades your Life. 

You let someone down. And someone lets you down in return. 

You touch a Life with love, compassion and care. And people touch your Life the same way.

Like the echo what you send out comes back to you. What you give is what you get. 

Have a marvellous day.

The wall of legacy.

I remember the days when I would run six miles to the nearest newsagents shop to collect the daily paper. I would return to my caravan and for the next hour or so sit and complete the crossword. The crossword came before the news, even though the news was important my first thought was the crossword.

I still purchase that same newspaper, though I must admit I am not liking the way it is going, and I still turn to the crossword. I now purchase the digital version so no more having to seek out a newsagent that sells it when on my travels. I can still access it in France.

I remember my days as a youth when the newspaper put pushed through the letterbox every morning and my mother sat down to read it while my brother and I got ready to go to school.

My father must have purchased a different paper because he always brought one home with him from work. I suspect he bought it for the sports page.

As time moved on I remember so clearly that my mother always turned to the death notices. She became the font of knowledge about who in her age group and shook off their mortal coils. 

I often asked her if that did not make her sad seeing her contemporaries dying off. 

"Not at all, makes me feel good that I am still here and able to tell you about it."

Those notices are no longer printed in the digital edition so I most certainly do not read them. Even if they were I do not think I would bother. Not because it would make me sad, but because I would be afraid I might find that I was on the list. 

About 100 years ago this very thing happened to a man. he turned to the obituaries to discover that his name was listed as having died. He tasted his boiled egg and assured himself it was not the case. 

He was shocked. I am here so I must be alive. 

Once he got over the shock he returned to the paper to see what they were saying about him.  The headline was, "Dynamite King Dies," he read on and he saw, merchant of death." 

"Is this how I am going to be remembered?" he asked himself. he was after all the inventor of dynamite because he was Alfred Nobel.

He did not want this to be the way he would be remembered so he decided to do something about it. He began to work for peace and it was he who set up the Nobel Peace Prize. he had got in touch with his feelings and redefined himself and how he would be remembered.   

Now I am not asking anybody to dwell on death or the death columns not at all. I live by the theory of making the very best of every day. I wake up and am glad to be alive and have another day on which to make my mark. 

But it does no harm from time to time to ask ourselves.

What is my legacy?

How will I be remembered?

Will I be well spoken of?

Will I be remembered with love and respect?

Will I be missed?

We are never too young or too old to now and again ask these questions and set about making sure that the answers will all be positive. 

Have a marvellous day and build another wonderful brick in the wall of your legacy. 

Give it all.

I had a few comments made to me a few times in the last week or so. The context of the comments does not really matter but it had to do with me and walking. 

I walk because I cannot run. I cannot run because when I could I overdid it and ran so many mountains that I have ended up with problems in my ankles and feet. 

I have lost count of the visits I had to make to hospital and doctors because of another broken or chipped bone.

So now I walk. But if I did not walk I would stiffen up and probably end up sitting in a chair watching the marvellous offerings given to me for the cost of a licence fee. Now is that an attractive alternative. 

Not if the only thing on offer is some politician sitting out in an Australian jungle. As I said to a good friend yesterday I think I can give that a miss, along with all the so-called celebrities who only call to fame is being a celebrity.

But maybe I could get on well by walking five miles and not ten?  I began to consider this and remembered another incident worthy of mention

A boy and a girl were playing together. 

The boy had a collection of marbles. The girl had some sweets with her. 

The boy told the girl that he would give her all his marbles in exchange for her sweets. The girl agreed. 

The boy kept the biggest and the most beautiful marble aside and gave the rest to the girl. 

The girl gave him all her sweets as she had promised. 

That night, the girl slept peacefully. But the boy couldn’t sleep as he kept wondering if the girl had hidden some sweets from him the way he had hidden his best marble.

If you don’t give your hundred percent in a relationship, and in life,  you’ll always keep doubting if the other person has given his/her hundred percent.

Unhappiness is built on doubt and much doubt is based on trust.

I hope all those watching the jungle antics had much pleasure, I will go for a walk. 

Have a marvellous day.