Tomorrow.

I walked this path yesterday and could not help but think about the old saying of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Fortunately, my path turned off to the left so I never discovered what I might have seen if I had continued and saw the light. My life has been one of many turns and twists and often convinced I had, in fact, this time seen the light only to discover later that there was yet more light to be seen.

Yet I have always tried to make my decisions and turn not in the dark but in the light of all the facts and circumstances. On the whole, I have managed and on this Christmas Eve, I rejoice that I have reached another without too many mishaps and in that, I rejoice.

Making decisions in the dark can lead to some regrettable consequences. 

Back in the days before electricity, a tightfisted old farmer was taking his hired man to task for carrying a lighted lantern when he went to call on his best girl. 

"Why," he exclaimed, "when I went a-courting' I never carried one of them things. I always went in the dark." 

"Yes," the hired man said wryly," and look what you got!" 

My wish for each and everyone who takes a moment to read this is that tomorrow will be a day full of light and laughter.

A very Happy Christmas to one and all. 

Morning has broken.

I walked yesterday morning while the mist was still hanging low on the ground and the winter sun was trying so hard to break through it and between the trees. It made getting up and out worth taking the time.

Someone once said, "There's nothing quite so early as the morning"  and how right they were. I had felt bad leaving my wife in bed with the cold but aware of the consequences of my not walking. The pain in my ankle becomes so much more bearable when I have walked.  I am often the only person out walking who does not have a dog with them and am often asked why I bother. 

I hope the answer can be seen in this painting this morning. Of course, it was not like this but this was what the scene did to my inner self and the day could now be faced with a new sense of purpose.

I walked on having been asked by the dog walker why I bothered? I remembered some of the things that had been said to me in the past about getting up and out of bed and found myself smiling.

A farmer friend used to say to me, "An alarm clock is a mechanism used to scare the daylights into you. " 

A younger female member of my congregation once said this to me about sleeping, "Anybody who sleeps like a baby doesn't have one."

An old elder one early morning feeling a bit annoyed at being up and out so early said, "I think women were put on earth to make men feel guilty about taking a nap." 

While another person said, "There ought to be a better way of starting the day than having to get up."

I really cannot see it. There are always two sides to everything and it is always far too simple to see only the miserable side of life. A cold crisp morning gave me this painting and I wonder what today will bring.

Another name for a morning grouch is a surly riser. Rise and rejoice a new day has dawned and you have it spreading before you to enjoy.

Have a great day.

Prepare for the unexpected.

Today I am leaving promptly to drive my friends to the railway station hoping to catch a train to take them to visit their family. This journey has been on their minds for some time and they have tried to make preparations in checking train schedules and platforms and everything possible to make sure things go smoothly. But life does not always go to plan and it is almost impossible to make certain that all possible bases have been covered.  Thousands of people have discovered in the last few days how travel can be interrupted by somebody flying a drone around an airfield.

But we live in an instant society and so people find it very difficult when things do not go to plan. We want instant everything or to put it another way we want things and we want them now. 

Several centuries ago, a Japanese emperor commissioned an artist to paint a bird. A number of months passed, then several years, and still, no painting was brought to the palace. 

Finally, the emperor became so exasperated that he went to the artist's home to demand an explanation. Instead of making excuses, the artist placed a blank canvas on the easel. In less than an hour, he completed a painting that was to become a brilliant masterpiece. When the emperor asked the reason for the delay, the artist showed him armloads of drawings of feathers, wings, heads, and feet. Then he explained that all of this research and study had been necessary before he could complete the painting.  

A famous artist painted a house with a sycamore tree behind the building. The brother of the artist tells of watching his brother work on this painting. Speaking of it he said,  " When I first saw the painting, he wasn't finished with it. He showed me a lot of drawings of the trunk and the sycamore's gnarled roots, and I said, "Where's all that in the picture?" "It's not in the picture," he said. "For me to get what I want in the part of the tree that's showing, I've got to know thoroughly how it is anchored in the back of the house." 

He could draw the tree above the house with such authenticity because he knew exactly how the thing was in the ground. 

 There are some things in life that we can plan for and make preparations such as the painting of a tree or even an abstract but we can never fully prepare for the unexpected. We can only prepare ourselves to be ready to meet the unexpected knowing that this is the way of life and often there is little we can do but to go with the flow.

Have a great day hope I will be back on track again tomorrow and not at the side of a railway track waiting in the hope that the expected train will arrive. 

Yes or No.

Snow Drops and Snowdrops.

I was pleased to receive a message or two about yesterdays blog being a helpful one. This is often the case of a blog when it comes from the deeper thoughts of the mind. As one who has those dark moments of depression and a feeling that things are not going at all right I always find it helpful to look around a bit more to discover what is going right.

So very often the same situations can be seen in a different light when looked at with a little more care. So often from the darker corners, it is possible to emerge into the light again a far better person than when you were in there or before you even sank into the darker corners. I speak from experience.

Let me share a little historical reality that gives us food for thought, I apologise for the pun.

It is hard to believe now, but the potato was once a highly unpopular food. When first introduced into England by Sir Walter Raleigh, newspapers printed editorials against it, ministers preached sermons against it, and the general public wouldn't touch it. It was supposed to sterilize the soil in which it had been planted and cause all manner of strange illnesses, even death. This is a fact we are seldom told when he learn about Raleigh bringing the potato across the Atlantic.

There were, however, a few brave men who did not believe all the propaganda being shouted against it. It was seen as an answer to famine among the poorer classes and as a healthful and beneficial food. 

Still, these few noblemen in England could not persuade their tenants to cultivate the potato. It was years before all the adverse publicity was overcome and the potato became popular.

A Frenchman named Parmentier took a different tack. He had been a prisoner of war in England when he first heard of the new plant. His fellow prisoners protested the outrage of having to eat potatoes. Parmentier, instead, thoughtfully inquired about the methods of cultivating and cooking the new food. 

Upon his return to France, he procured an experimental farm from the Emperor, in which he planted potatoes. When it was time to dig them, at his own expense, he hired a few soldiers to patrol all sides of his famous potato patch during the daytime. Meanwhile, he conducted distinguished guests through the fields, digging a few tubers here and there, which they devoured with evident relish. 

At night, he began to withdraw the guards. A few days later one of the guards hastened to Parmentier with the sad news that peasants had broken into the potato patch at night, and dug up most of the crop.

Nobody would have believed his reaction to the news. 

Parmentier was overjoyed, much to the surprise of his informant, and exclaimed, "When the people will steal in order to procure potatoes, their popularity is assured." So it was.

Our initial reactions to situations are not always the correct ones. Much depends on how we see things positive or negative.

A man from the Highlands of Scotland found himself one day in a large city, for the first time standing outside a lift (elevator). 

He watched as an old, haggard woman hobbled on, and the doors closed. A few minutes later the doors opened and a young, attractive woman marched smartly off. The father yelled to his youngest son, "Billy, go get mother." 

Have a positive and good day.

Happiness.

I spent some time yesterday changing this face of compassion and peace. I felt that the version I had produced had too many dark and sombre lines that took away from the calm I was seeking. I am now feeling a bit happier with what I have. This may not be the case for all who see it because I am very much aware that what makes one person happy is not what makes another feel the same. 

Yet it is a time of the year when we sincerely wish people a happy time.

A friend climbed on the bathroom scale after two weeks of butterless toast and chilly jogs around the park. The needle was still stuck on the number where he had started. This struck him as typical of how things had been going lately. It seemed he was destined never to be happy.

Facing the disappointment he decided to get dressed, scowling at the top button of his tight jeans. He found a £10 note in the pocket. Then a friend sent him a message with a funny story. 

He had to be somewhere and was running late and remembered that the car needed petrol but his wife had already filled the tank. And this was a man who thought he would never be happy.

Every day, it seems, we're flooded with pop-psych advice about happiness. The relentless message is that there's something we're supposed to do to be happy,  make the right choices, or have the right set of beliefs about ourselves.  

Coupled with this is the notion that happiness is a permanent condition. If we're not joyful all the time, we conclude there's a problem.

Yet the truth is that what most people experience is not a permanent state of happiness. It is something more ordinary, a mixture of what essayist Hugh Prather once called "unsolved problems, ambiguous victories and vague defeats, with few moments of clear peace."

Maybe you wouldn't say yesterday was a happy day, because you had a misunderstanding with somebody. But was there moments of happiness, moments of clear peace? Now that you think about it, was there not a message from an old friend?  Was there not a moment that made you smile how easy it is to remember you had a bad day and forget all those little happy moments. 

Happiness is like a visitor, a genial, exotic Aunt Tilly who turns up when you least expect her, orders an extravagant round of drinks and then disappears, trailing a lingering scent of gardenias. You can't command her appearance; you can only appreciate her when she does show up. 

And you can't force happiness to happen, but you can make sure you are aware of it when it does.

While you are walking home with a head full of problems, try to notice the sun striking the windows with a cheerful glow.  Listen to the shouts of children playing in the fading light, and feel your spirits rise, just from having paid attention.

Happiness is an attitude, not a condition. It's spending a pleasant hour organizing your closet. Happiness is your family assembled at dinner. It's in the present, not in the distant promise of a "someday when." 

How much happier we are,  and how much more happiness we experience, if we can fall in love with the life we're living.

Happiness is a choice. Reach out for it at the moment it appears, like a balloon drifting seaward in a bright blue sky.

I wish you a day full of happy moments.

Promise!

I overheard a conversation yesterday between a mother and her young daughter. At this time of year, such conversations are frequently held between parents and children. This one like so many others was about Christmas and what the child wanted to find on Christmas Day. Then the conversation took a twist and the child made her mother promise at least three times that I could hear.

I walked on thinking why so many times was a promise asked for. I remembered conversations with my own father where either he or I would promise to do something. Once the word promise had been used on either side of the conversation the conversation came to an end because both of us knew that a promise had been made and a promise would be kept.

A lesson learned very early in life was simply this, do not make a promise that you have no intentions of keeping or that you will never be able to keep Consider well before speaking.

A person quick to promise can so often be a person quick to forget.

There is a wonderful and true tale that happened during the time of slavery. A slave and his master had grown to respect one another to such an extent that the master allowed the slave a certain amount of freedom to go and work where and for whomever he desired on the strength of a promise between the two that the slave would continue to pay for his freedom out of his earnings and the master would give him the freedom to earn. 

 The slave had heard that the wages that could be earned in the next state were higher than where he lived moved with his note of contract to his master and began to work. During the time of repayment, the proclamation of Emancipation was brought into law and the slave was freed from any obligations to his master, he still owed a substantial debt, that no longer had to be repaid.

Nevertheless, the now ex-slave walked the long distance back to where he had previously lived and worked and placed into the hands of the master the outstanding balance of the promise.

The slave said that he knew he did not have to pay this debt but that he would never fully enjoy his freedom until he had fulfilled his promise.

There is much talk of promises and fulfilment of such at this time not least among politicians. it also seems that many promises founded on lies were made.  It is far to easy to promise the earth and later turn one's back on the promise made. 

A promise made should be a promise kept no matter whom or when. There can be no trust if we cannot rely on a promise.

Have a marvellous day.

Well Done.

There are always plenty of apples in my home of differing varieties, Pnk Ladys', Gala, Cox, Granny Smiths and so the list goes on. I pop an apple into my pocket as the last thing I do before going out on my morning walk. At the halfway stage of the walk I treat myself to my apple, my reward for the first half and my praise to keep me going for the more difficult second half when there is a chance that the pain in my foot will return. 

I caught the end of the awards for the sporting awards for the year that lies behind us. How good it was to see a sportsman given the praise he duly deserved for the achievement made in the greulling sport of cycling, where the athlete can cycle hundreds of miles a day in pursuit of the prize, He very humbly said that this would encourage him to greater things. 

Everyone needs recognition for their accomplishments, but few people make the need known quite as clearly as the little boy who said to his father: "Let's play darts. I'll throw and you say "Wonderful!'" 

Here was a certain case that it was not all about winning but taking part and being made to feel good for what had been achieved.

A compliment can be a great motivator, particularly if you put a little thought into the why, when, and how of delivering it. 

I always made sure to comment whenever  a student keept working in the face of obviously difficult situations, how often that little praise was enough for the student to go onto better things. Given at the point of success praise can do so much. In my drawer I had a little bundle of yellow praise slips on which I wrote a little personal note that could be shared with family and friends at a later date reinforcing the praise of the moment. 

But a note of caution praise is always something of great worth but it does not always require the ticker tape and glitter ball to be deep and meaningful on many ocassions a quiete word will suffice.

My father once told me that there are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the praise. He told me to try to be in the first group, there was less competition there. Praise should always be a meaningful reward for something well done and not because it has been sought.

At this season of greetings and goodwill a word of praise does not go amiss.

Have a great day.

The path of learning.

I thought when I left education and retired from being a magistrate sitting on the bench in judgement my days of training courses and training days would be behind me and here I am inviting members of the community council to consider attending training classes on offer. Though I have been involved in a great many such training days in the past and though I am getting long in the tooth and age is something to be ignored I will probably attend at least one of the courses on offer. Why? Because as my good friend Jim often reminds us every day is a school day and a day of learning.

I walked this path through the forest yesterday trying to find a sheltered path away from the forecast wind and rain. Peaceful, and stretching out before me evergreen trees moss, lichens and the needle strewed path time to consider and contemplate some of the many words of wisdom I had learned in the past.

As I considered the training courses, the books, the lectures I realised that much of my learning had taken place on such paths of life from walking companions and quiet moments of thought.

And I have learned-

That those who most need to learn

are usually the people who are sure they already know it all.

I have learned -

that our background and circumstances

may have influenced who we are,

but we are responsible for who we become.

I have learned -

that sometimes when my friends fight,

I am m forced to choose sides

even when I don't want to.

I have learned -

that just because two people argue,

it doesn't mean they don't love each other

And just because they don't argue,

it doesn't mean they do.

I have learned -

that sometimes you have to put

the individual ahead of their actions.

I have learned -

that we don't have to change friends

we understand that friends change.

I have learned -

that you shouldn't be so eager to

find out a secret.

It could change your life forever.

I have learned -

that two people can look at

the exact same thing

and see something totally different.

What I have not yet learned is when to speak and when to keep my mouth shut but I am trying hard to do just that as I travel the paths of life.

Have a great day. 

It is just a few minutes.

I was out walking yesterday when my phone rang. Normally while out walking I ignore it and get on with my walk. I used to always carry it with me while running in the mountains in case I had an accident and needed help in some wild place. Then I carried it with me while walking because it linked to my watch and helped my watch to record the miles and places I was walking.

Now it is probably just a habit that makes me take it. But yesterday it rang and I responded. On the other end was a gentleman who had been talking to one of the members of the community council who had given him some time and made his day. He had looked up the community council page and found my telephone number and wanted me to convey his thanks to her. He chatted on for some time and I became aware that I was talking to somebody who had lost his wife and was feeling very lonely.

I spent some time considering this call and with some sense of cheer that I had taken the time to answer it and determined to do something about it. 

How often have I talked with someone on the telephone who seemed to be in a hurry and wanted to get on with more important business? 

How often have I stopped to speak with someone on the street and received that same hurried feeling?  And, perhaps, I  have also been guilty of this, giving out the feeling that I was too rushed to stop and talk.

You have undoubtedly experienced it and didn't enjoy it.

If you have, why not decide to tithe time, save up chunks, bits and pieces of it, and give them away to people who interrupt your pre-established plans?

It is a great principle of love that people don't interrupt, not really, they never intend to interrupt they just intend to be friendly.  

Perhaps there shouldn't even be such a word as interrupt; for when people come into our existence, even for a brief time, that is a wonderful moment of experience for both of us. 

Relish it. Probe it. Invest some of the time you have tithed. 

We can't afford to indulge in the luxury of "being too busy and important" for another person. A few of our precious moments might be a life-changing experience for another person.

Have a marvellous day and for those in Scotland prepare well for the day it seems we are in for a day of strong winds snow and then freezing rain a dangerous combination.

Be ready for the unexpected.

I had a marvellous day out yesterday in our capital city. I spent time just wandering around the Christmas market when there was room to move it not being as busy as it was the last time I tried to visit on a Saturday. The man above seem to appear all over the place and of course, I heard a mother tell her child that Santa had many helpers that were why she was seeing so many. I was not at all surprised by the response from the child who wanted to see the real one, not the helpers. Sort that one out mothers.

It shows you have to be always prepared for the unexpected. I was faced with this very thought again when I popped into the Apple Store to purchase a cover for my Ipad. On finding what I was looking for I was directed to a young man who had set up in a corner to take card payments. Seeing before him an older person he asked if I was sure I had the correct cover? I am sure he wondered what an old man like me was doing with such technology. Sure enough, he asked me what I used it for. When I showed him he seemed surprised. A line began to form as he looked at my art and proceeded to take down all my details wondering if I could possibly help in giving demonstrations and meeting with other Apple artists?  In the end, I dropped a painting of one of my horses over to him for his daughter.

For just a little moment I was one of Santas helpers. I also left feeling happy inside he said I had made his day and he had certainly made mine. 

It is great to be challenged and to try and rise to it, I did not hear how the mother faced the challenge of the real Santa but I am sure she did. Always expect the unexpected I think that gentleman in the Apple store did indeed get a shock that not all old men are passed it. 

The next time you feel yourself feeling confident, challenge yourself to do the impossible. You just may. There are legions of people with unchallenged genius potential.  

In 1912, two Irish music hall players were spending an afternoon in a pub at Stalybridge in Cheshire, England. They were extolling the musical traditions of Ireland when it's said they boasted they could write and perform a song on the same day. It might have been a gimmick to stimulate attendance or it could have been genius jumping out of its bag, for It's a Long Way to Tipperary was performed that night at the Stalybridge Grand Theater by Jack Judge and Harry Williams. 

It was an overnight success that gained tremendous popularity during World War I as an Allies marching song.

Look to challenge yourselves and others it brings much joy when you do.

Have a great day.  

Expect little receive much.

I thank one of my friends for inspiring and challenging me to look at art in a different way. Using a different palette and a different set of brushes and making different strokes a painting already produced and painted again can look so very different. I am aware that it will not meet the expectations of the many friends who take time to comment on my work but it was challenging to produce and I learned much.

I have recently become secretary of a local committee that is in place to look after and support the community. The secretary before me was there for many years and did an excellent job. I have been aware that for some I am not meeting expectations I am not like the previous secretary and I do not do things the same way as he does. I never will meet the expectations of those who worked along with him so I have stopped trying and decided that I will give of my very best and can do no other.

The expectations we have, especially at this time of year can be met and fully satisfied but only if we do not set them too high in the first place.

A young psychology student who had been called up to do military service and was serving in the Army decided to test a theory. 

Being allocated kitchen duty, he was given the job of passing out apricots at the end of the food line. 

He asked the first few soldiers that came by, "You don't want any apricots, do you?" Ninety per cent said "No." 

Then he tried the positive approach, "You do want apricots, don't you?" About half answered, "Uh, yeah. I'll take some." 

Then he tried a third test, based on the fundamental either/or selling technique. This time he asked, "One dish of apricots or two?" And in spite of the fact that soldiers don't like Army apricots, 40 per cent took two dishes and 50 per cent took one! 

He had either lowered expectations or raised them and people acted accordingly.

Expect little and receive much.

Have a marvellous day.

The lists get longer.

I hope at the end of this day I feel that I want to dance home full of the joys of the day. I have a day of meetings to attend, one all afternoon and one that will take up most of my evening so a later bedtime and hopefully both meetings have gone well and I come home full of good thoughts and enjoy my rest.

All going well tomorrow I am going to take the bus to Edinburgh and have a walk along the banks of the river Leith and visit the Christmas market and see the Rembrandt exhibition at the Art Gallery, the cares of the week behind me. 

When I write this down I already feel selfish that I am filling my day with all the things I would like to do and want to do. I could add others but I am sure time and energy will say that is enough. 

I have a friend who at this time of year lets his beard, which he has all year, grow much longer and he plays the part of Santa Clause in one of the local shopping centres and at many parties. He tells me that what surprises him is when he askes children what they would like for Christmas the lists each year get longer and longer. Surprisingly, most of those lists will be fulfilled and many parents will spend the rest of the year paying off the debt. I suspect many of them will not feel at all like the Christmas Doll in my painting.

I am sure I have told the tale written by Leo Tolstoy before but it is one worthy of further thought at this time of year.

He told the tale of a successful peasant farmer who was never satisfied with his lot. He wanted more of everything. 

One day he received a novel offer. For 1000 rubles, he could buy all the land he could walk around in a day. The only catch in the deal was that he had to be back at his starting point by sundown. 

Early the next morning he started out walking at a fast pace. By midday, he was very tired, but he kept going, covering more and more ground. Well into the afternoon he realized that his greed had taken him far from the starting point. 

He quickened his pace and as the sun began to sink low in the sky, he began to run, knowing that if he did not make it back by sundown the opportunity to become an even bigger landholder would be lost. 

As the sun began to sink below the horizon he came within sight of the finish line. Gasping for breath, his heart pounding, he called upon every bit of strength left in his body and staggered across the line just before the sun disappeared. 

He did not have time to pay the meagre fee and enjoy the success he collapsed, blood streaming from his mouth. Within a few minutes, he was dead. 

His workers dug a grave on the very spot he had died.  

It measured not much over six feet long and three feet wide.  They might have considered carving on his gravestone the question, "How much land does a person need?" Six foot by three!

How long does a Christmas list need to be to make a great Christmas?  Not very long.

Have a great day. 

We are doing Division today.

On my path yesterday there comes a sharp bend and the path goes under the trees and you are immediately faced with a steep and often slippy hill. I always prepare myself for the sharp climb knowing that I will feel it in the calves of my legs. Yesterday I came out through the trees and there was the hill but there also was the beautiful dappled light running down through the division between the trees. 

I have been very aware of division very much these past few weeks when all we hear about is the ever increasing gaps between the know divided country I live in. The word division scared me at school I was never good at math or arithmetic and dreaded when told, "We are going to do division this morning."  But one thing I did know was that when you divided one thing with another you always ended up with less than you started. It seems to me that right now this is exactly where we are heading. 

But this is not the place for politics and I am taking no side here I merely reflect it will be a very long time before there is a coming together if we are not careful.

I was always very conscious of division when I was a minister, division between different factions of the religion I was part of and I found this very sad. Of course, when I moved into teaching and world religions and philosophy I became even more conscious of the divisions between religions. I have been left wondering why we seem so hell-bent on division?

Being aware of such and much concerned about the rise of denominations in the church and between religions a devote man tells of a dream he had. 

In the dream, he was ushered to the gates of Hell. 

There he asked, "Are there any Presbyterians here?" "Yes!", came the answer. 

Then he asked, "Are there any Baptists? Any Episcopalians? Any Methodists?" The answer was Yes! each time. 

In deep distress, he asked, "Are there any Muslims here, any Hindus?"  "Yes," came the answer.

Much distressed, he was then ushered to the gates of Heaven. 

There he asked the same question, and the answer was No! "No?" To this, he asked, "Who then is inside?" 

The answer came back, "There are only good people of faith here." 

Where there is division there can only ever be losers and never any winners.  Just a thought as we approach a time where we are all supposed to put aside differences and be of one. 

Have a great day.

Surprises

I mentioned the other day there that I did not like surprises and have been asked why this is the case. It might at first seem obvious why somebody does not like surprises it being because they do not like being disappointed and that is to some extent understandable.  This, however, is not my reasoning though it may well have started out this way.

I was brought up in a very poor household and especially at this time of the year my mother found it very difficult. She began from an important standpoint and this was that the most important of all expenditures was to make sure that there was always food on the table and my brother and I did not go off to school hungry. For the same reason, we had to walk home from school at lunchtime to have a bowl of soup which was cheaper to produce than paying for a school meal.

So Christmas very quickly became part of the whole family way of life of compromise. There would be no big surprises at Christmas because then there would be no disappointments my mother would find out what we wanted and then tell us what we could expect that would be as near as possible to the request, but often not quite there.

On the whole, this worked and Christmas was plain and simple but there was always a meal of our favourites.

What I did not learn from this exercise was that art of knowing how to react when a surprise came my way. Try as I might I have never cultivated the art of making the giver feel that I am feeling as I deep down always am overwhelmed and my inner emotions remain mine alone. 

I have on the other hand learned as a giver not to expect a great deal and so I am never disappointed at the reaction of the receiver.  I have learned to take life as it comes.

But frequently I come around a bend on my walk and am confronted with a scene like this one above that leaves me standing open-mouthed in joy. Where on a cold morning with a low sun the needles on the ground show such a profusion of colour. 

Enjoy the unexpected and be grateful for what we never expected. I am sure this season of giving and receiving would be so much better if this was our starting point. 

Have a surprising day of happiness and feast on the simple things of life.

The thoughts of a horse.

I can hardly ever go walking in the village without seeing horses. Between where I live and the local Inn one of the first buildings in the village I have to pass two fields and there is seldom a time when there are no horses in one or other of them.

As I passed and watched them the words, "Do they know its Christmas?" crossed my mind. No, they did not and had not a thought about it. Their one concern was the next mouthful of tasty grass or possibly an apple that somebody had thrown into the field for them. Yet they seemed content and sauntered over towards the fence whenever anybody passed, just in the hope.

Not so for us at this time of year. We are so caught up in the future that the now does not seem of much importance.

We are so caught up in the future date that we do not rest satisfied with the present. 

We anticipate that future as too slow in coming, as if in order to hasten its course. Or we recall the past, to stop its too rapid flight. So imprudent are we that we dream of those times which are no more, and thoughtlessly overlook that which alone exists, now. 

For the present is generally lost to us, we conceal it from our sight because we are so caught up in the future.  We try to sustain it by the future and think of rearranging matters which are not in our power, for a time which we have no certainty of reaching. 

Let each one examine his/her thoughts, and he will find them all occupied with the past and the future. We scarcely ever think of the present and if we think of it, it is only to take light from it to arrange the future. 

The present is never our end. So we never fully live,  we are so busy preparing to live. We are so busy preparing to be happy, that much happiness slips by.

One of the greatest dangers of this time is we all spend too much time living in the future or the past, feeling regret for lost joys or shame for things badly done and hoping this year it might be better. 

Even when our minds turn to the future, we spend an inordinate amount of time longing for it or dreading it. 

The only way to live said the sage, "is to accept each minute as an unrepeatable miracle.  Work at your work. Play at your play. Shed your tears. Enjoy your laughter. Now is the time of your life."

Or for today be like the horse enjoy the grass before you and not that on the other side of the hour.

Have a great day in the midst of all the busyness.

Shopping

I have to be open and honest about something I have to do, as do we all from time to time, going shopping. This is one thing that comes far down my lists of things I have to or want to do. To me, it seems like one of the necessary evils of life. Strange, because I really do enjoy cooking and baking bread and soup and all sorts of things. But the spices for a making a curry do not just appear in the kitchen they have to be shopped for. Yesterday I spent a fair bit of my time doing just that.

The older we get the fewer presents we have to buy and my family knowing that more than me do not like surprises talk openly about what we would like to receive. Last year my family persuaded me to have a years subscription of the Digital Concert of the Berlin Philharmoniker. So this year, after a year of sheer joy watching and listening to all of their concerts, it was simply a years renewal.

All of that said we do have family and friends we purchase gifts for and it takes a great deal of thought and consideration as to not just what they might like but what would they really appreciate?

So on the basis of my experience, yesterday here are some tips on making purchases for a member of the opposite sex.  As a male, I can only speak about purchasing for female loved ones. So here goes! 

Do not buy anything that plugs in. Anything that requires electricity is seen as utilitarian.

Do not buy clothing that involves sizes. The chances are one in seven thousand that you will get her size right, and your wife will be offended the other 6999 times. "Do I look like a size 16?" she'll say. Too small a size doesn't cut it either: "I haven't worn a size 8 in 20 years!"

Avoid all things useful. The new polish advertised to save hundreds of hours is not going to win you any brownie points.

Do not purchase anything that involves weight loss or self-improvement.  A six-month membership to a diet centre will be seen as a suggestion that's she is overweight.

Purchasing jewellery is fraught with danger. The jewellery your wife wants, you cannot afford, and the jewellery you can afford will seldom be what will be loved.

Finally, do not spend too much. "How do you think we're going to afford that?" she'll ask. But do not spend too little. She will not say anything, but she will think, "Is that all I'm worth?"

So to all going out shopping,  remember it is and can be a real minefield at this time of year. 

The art of giving and receiving is probably one of the hardest lessons of life to learn and after almost 75 years I have still much to learn.

Have a great time and a great day. 

Giving.

There lies behind this painting a story. This is an early painting that I did on a canvas and I have a friends who own some of my paintings already and I have told these friends that I would like them to have this one but because of some restrictions in getting art into the country without much expense on their part I still have the canvas in a safe place.  This may look like the same painting but it is not it is a version of it done on my Ipad and so it can go anywhere in the world in a digital format, like so many of my recent paintings, at no cost. All I need is an email address to make it possible.

While completing this and me thinking about giving it to friends there was much bustle out in the street as Santa went around on the back of a lorry, his reindeer must have been tired. A knock came to the door and there were young people with collecting cans gathering for charity. My first reaction was to go to my Buddha purse and empty the contents into the tin. My Buddha purse is a little leather pouch I have with a wooden Buddha head on the cords which I use for all my loose change.

At the last moment, I thought again and reached for my wallet where I carry my notes and though I have been saving very hard to cover the outlay of my new IPad I reached in and placed a note into the can and not the change.

This reminded me of the tale of the little girl.

A mother wanted to teach her daughter a moral lesson. She gave the little girl a fifty pence and a £1 coin for the church.

"Put whichever one you want in the collection plate and keep the other for yourself," she told the girl.

When they were coming out of the church, the mother asked her daughter which amount she had given. "Well," said the little girl, "I was going to give the pound, but just before the collection, the man in the pulpit said that we should all be cheerful givers. I knew I'd be a lot more cheerful if I gave the fifty pence, so I did."

There is much said about giving at this time of year C.S. Lewis said this, "I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. "

To finish I quote one of my ancient heroes who said, "Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure; where your treasure is, there is your heart; where your heart is, there is your happiness.

Have a marvellous day and just a thought on the other side of giving is receiving and there is much to be said about being a good receiver.