Comments for kyber

Comment on My first ever major back-problem by Back to my back problems – kyber

Back to my back problems – kyber — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:03:20 +0000

[...] difficult to do things. The first time I had a major back problems was over three years ago, and I blogged some months afterwards about the experience. Ever since I have had to be very careful and from to [...]

Comment on What do athiests think about Christians by dkhenderson

dkhenderson — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:47:14 +0000

Hi [kyber], I hope you're well & thriving! Your question intrigued me. Not least because it suggests that there might be a single view which many tens of millions of Athiests have of many more tens of millions of Christians. Having been both (Athiest for the first 35 years of my life, Christian for the last 24) I've got some insights which may help.
(1) I know many Athiests and many Christians, and I can assure you that there are many different 'flavours' of each - so no single view, one of the other.
(2) I agree with your (implied) view that Atheism is essentially as much faith-based as any religion ie the (non-)existence of God can't be proved scientifically or rationally, any more than His existence can. (This is despite many vitriolic denials of this by the recently developed Atheist fundamentalist tendency spearheaded by the likes of Richard Dawkins)
(3) I'm intrigued by your comments about Christians who 'force their beliefs on others'. Whilst there are no doubt some who try to, are you suggesting that it is only fundamentalist Christians who do this? What about fundamentalist Athiests, Muslims,...etc?
(4) I agree with you about not wanting to 'indoctrinate' children into a single faith without providing a broad awareness of wider faith considerations. This is why many Christians believe that a personal commitment of one's faith in Christ should be made only on reaching an age of maturity (eg confirmation in the Church of England, adult baptism in other denominations) when an individual can make up his/her own mind
(5) Creationism is a relatively recent development, building up over the latter part of the 20th Century mainly in the USA. It is a very much minority belief within the broader Christian world. (eg even before the geological & fossil record was understood, in the early centuries AD, much Christian academic & popular view was that the story of creation in Genesis was allegorical - ie God is indeed the Creator, but when & how he created the Universe and the Earth is not literally described in the Bible).

I'm happy to discuss any of this further!

Comment on Spirituality in education by kyber

kyber — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:45:53 +0000

That probably works better in the original German, but I am struggling to see the relevance of quoting part of an English translation of one of Rainer Maria Rilke's Duineser Elegien lyrical poems.

Comment on Spirituality in education by MJBRichards

MJBRichards — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:24:32 +0000

Strange, though, alas, the streets of Grief-City,

where, in the artificiality of a drowned-out false

stillness, the statue cast from the mould of emptiness bravely

swaggers: the gilded noise, the flawed memorial.

O, how an Angel would utterly trample their market of solace,

bounded by the Church, bought ready for use:

untouched, disenchanted and shut like the post-office on Sunday.

Beyond though, the outskirts are always alive with the fair.

Swings of freedom! Divers and jugglers of zeal!

And the figures at the shooting range of easy luck,

targets that shake tinnily whenever some better marksman

hits one. From applause at his luck

he staggers on further: as booths for every taste

are wooing him, drumming, and bawling. Here’s something

special, only for adults, to view: how money is got, anatomy,

not just to amuse: the private parts of money,

all of it, the whole thing, the act, - to instruct and make

potent.......O, but just beyond

behind the last hoarding, plastered with adverts for ‘Deathless’,

that bitter beer that tastes sweet to its drinkers,

as long as they chew fresh distractions along with it......

just at the back of the hoardings, just behind them, it’s real.

Children are playing, lovers are holding each other – to the side,

sombrely, in the sparse grass, and dogs are following their nature.

Rilke, Duino Elegies, the Tenth Elegy

Comment on Mortal by kyber

kyber — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:20:59 +0000

I was very moved by the poem that was read out at the end of the service witht the following introduction:

"I close with a peom by David Harkin as I think R would have approved of its message.

You can shed a tear that he is gone
or you can smile because he has lived

You can close your eyes and pray he'll come back
or you can open your eyes and see all he's left.

Your heart can be empty because you can't see him
or you can be full of the love you shared

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live for yesterday
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember and only that he's gone
or you can cherish his memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
or you can do what he'd want: smile, open your eyes love and go on."

His widow added these words:
"And so in love remember R's life, the qualities you loved and
admired, your memories of him. They are a reality that can never die."

I found a copy of the main text on http://www.blakehartley.com/PoemsPage.htm
but a search for David Harkin gives a slightly different version called Remember me, http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/remember-me/

Comment on Mortal by kyber

kyber — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:20:00 +0000

I was very moved by the poem that was read out at the end of the service with the following introduction:

"I close with a poem by David Harkin as I think R would have approved of its message.

You can shed a tear that he is gone
or you can smile because he has lived

You can close your eyes and pray he'll come back
or you can open your eyes and see all he's left.

Your heart can be empty because you can't see him
or you can be full of the love you shared

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live for yesterday
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember and only that he's gone
or you can cherish his memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
or you can do what he'd want: smile, open your eyes love and go on."

His widow added these words:
"And so in love remember R's life, the qualities you loved and
admired, your memories of him. They are a reality that can never die."

I found a copy of the main text on http://www.blakehartley.com/PoemsPage.htm
but a search for David Harkin gives a slightly different version called Remember me, http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/remember-me/

Comment on Mortal by kyber

kyber — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:20:00 +0000

Comment on Mortal by kyber

kyber — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:22:59 +0000

Thanks Julian. Appreciate the thoughts. I would not want you to worry that I am especially depressed or morbid regarding this passing though.

Comment on Mortal by julianschwarzenbach

julianschwarzenbach — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:34:03 +0000

Relationships and families can get complicated in the best of circumstances. When someone, for whatever reason, makes such sudden changes to their life (and of those around them) the repercussions can last for some time. It appears that Richard must have been wrestling with many personal demons to act the way he did. The funeral must have brought home to many people some of these demons.

Over time, it may be that more answers start to appear to match with the many questions that family and friends have. Hopefully these answers may provide a better understanding of the motivation for these changes.

My mother in law was adopted by relatives at the age of 3 (she is now nearly 80). Recent research into the family tree raised a whole load of questions about her other, and unkown, family on her mother's side. This reopened a number of deeply hidden memories and raised a whole load of new questions which now can never be answered. This caused her quite a bit of anxiety.

As mentioned before, I hope that over time, some answers start to emerge.

Thanks for requoting my previous message. As I stated before, we are all on a journey through life and need to remember that at some point that journey will come to an end. As we go through this journey, perspectives and awareness will change and we start to become more aware of our mortality. This awareness should not be a source of gloom, but should act as a reminder that we only pass this way once and should try and get the most out of all we do and help others to get the most out of their journey.

Comment on Photography and digital editing by kyber

kyber — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 04:06:54 +0000

And now I find an amazing contribution to the discussion from a guest blogger on Scott Kelby's site:

http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/2010/archives/7617

Well worth reading don't you think?