I tell it to you with an openness of heart that I doubt I shall ever achieve again, so I pray you are in a quiet room as you hear these words. My secret is that I need God – that I am sick and can no longer make it alone.
I need God to help me give, because I no longer seem capable of giving; to help me be kind, as I no longer seem capable of kindness; to help me love, as I seem beyond being able to love.”
(Douglas Coupland, Life After God)
I guess this means I’m back……
Welcome back, friend.
Jude
May 25, 2008 at 8:35 am
hey, good to be back – i think! Not quite sure how this will take shape. Fosters idea of ‘in the silence only the darkness hears my typing’ springs forth eternal.
Am also rusty on the new formatting of word press as opposed to blogspot – any tips?
paulwchambers
May 26, 2008 at 8:17 am
Just read this by Father O’Donahue……and then I see you…..
“The human face is an artistic achievement… each face is a particular intensity of human presence…”
If the human face is the mirror into our souls, let yours echo some of your inner beauty and chaos.
welcome back paul. i’ve missed you in the choir.
dana
May 26, 2008 at 9:06 am
welcome back Paul
Katie
May 26, 2008 at 9:28 am
Thanks you two
I was reading dear old Father O this morning and came across a beautiful quote by Helene Cixous:
“I find my bearings when I become lost.”
Well, I’m pretty lost so I hope it’s true…..
paulwchambers
May 26, 2008 at 10:36 am
You are back! What wonderful news! I loved waking up and seeing your comment. How are you friend? I love your picture. I have to agree with the above quote…the more lost I am, the more I tend to anchor in Christ. That is so incredibly true.
Here is to you exploring your own compass Paul.
Anna
May 26, 2008 at 12:12 pm
i’m so happy to see you are back! such a powerful quote… “beyond being able to love”… heartbreakingly familiar at times.
Kate
May 26, 2008 at 1:25 pm
ah lulu its been too long ….till we drink some whiskey again …as the man would say ….’be kind to yourself’ m
Mark
May 26, 2008 at 8:04 pm
anna, kate and father….
the vanity in me lost my love affair with that picture – it’s a year old – have replaced it with something more recent…
i guess sometimes i feel like i carry the brokenness of others at the expense of my own, and as mr springsteen says, ‘like when the truth is spoken and it makes no difference, something in your heart grows cold…’
here’s to finding a compass, to the world beyond and within love….and yes my dear friend….whiskey – here’s to the body of sam and the conscience of toby….
paulwchambers
May 27, 2008 at 2:07 pm
hi there. very glad to hear form you again. it might also encourage me to perform a bit more bloggery. missed you!
shirley
May 27, 2008 at 2:24 pm
had noticed you had been quiet…
sometimes silence can be deafening and less more…. ah well your favourite cs is back
here’s to bloggery, however often it comes
paulwchambers
May 27, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Oh shit! I’ve got tears in my eyes – welcome back, missed you – deep calls to deep, and so many of the folk I’ve connected with in cyberspace I met through this blog. Here’s to more of those special soul connections. So pleased you decided to come back. WordPress now eh – like it, very posh -lol x
Jules
May 28, 2008 at 8:58 am
are the tears because i started blogging again or about the man in the story? Haha
many things i am, posh ain’t one of ‘em – site looks ok though, if i could just figure it out!
paulwchambers
May 28, 2008 at 3:48 pm
I did try wordpress myself for a while but it baffled… me I just couldn’t get the hang of it – does do the business tho as far as aesthetics go. Tears in my eyes because I feel like less of a hopeless case when you’re around!
Julie
May 28, 2008 at 4:33 pm
why thank you….it’s good to know i’m good for something!!
paulwchambers
May 30, 2008 at 8:44 am
It worked! Thank you Paul – for being around, for taking the trouble to help me to reconnect, and, whenever you post, for making me stop and think and breathe.
Kathryn
May 30, 2008 at 9:24 am
breath…….i don’t think anyone has described my rambles in such a way….
thanks Kathryn
apologies to anyone who has – much beer has been drunk!
paulwchambers
May 30, 2008 at 9:45 am
Hi!
this came to mind—
a bruised reed he will not break… and-
They shall be called oaks of righteousness
suzanna
June 3, 2008 at 3:49 pm
hey Suzanna you found the new blog
i like the dichotomy of the gentleness of god , where a bruised (battered) reed will not be broken against the strength of a Quercus……. the mystery keeps me walking….on
paulwchambers
June 3, 2008 at 8:23 pm