Kingfisher

                                        

A few weeks ago, I was walking into Morpeth, crossing the river at the metal footbridge by the Chantry, when half-way across, I saw a woman I didn’t know, staring down at something.

‘Don’t do it!’ I said, jokingly. Well, I do talk to strangers sometimes, even if it does embarrass my children.

The woman turned, smiled, then pointed back down at the river. ‘See? It’s a kingfisher.’ And it was. There, perched on a branch, really still, down near the water, sat this tiny bird, an iridescent gleam of metallic blue, peering intently down at the water. We both looked, silently, at the creature for a minute or two. Then the woman, said, ‘I’ve got to go.’ So she left me to it, me and the kingfisher. 

Then I heard footsteps. Someone else coming across, an older man. I turned, furtively whispered, ‘A kingfisher!’ He stopped too. Both of us, gazing, entranced. Then, after another minute, the bird suddenly darted away.

‘I’ve never seen one of those before,’ I said. ‘

Amazing,’ he said. And with that, we parted. Three strangers brought together by a common delight- in a beautiful little river bird.

It left me wondering. Why is it easier talking to be about kingfishers with a complete stranger, than to be talking about our deepest beliefs… about Life, the Universe, and Everything? Or about God?

I suppose talking like that could be challenging. It could sound like I’m right, you’re wrong. Why don’t you come to our group / our club / our church? That won’t go far, not in Modern Britain. We're suspicious of getting dragged into anything. Leave me alone, you self-righteous weirdo.

But just suppose, sharing our passions, our beliefs, our faith, was actually about sharing our treasures, our pleasures, those times when we’ve had those kingfisher moments that made our heart sing and the world suddenly came fresh and alive again?

If you’re a person of faith, does it give you kingfisher moments? It could be that moment in communion when you receive the bread and the wine, or share the Peace. Or for others, it could be that sunset you saw last week. Or the Northern Lights. Or that time in your life when you were just sitting, 'being there', and you suddenly felt yourself filled with the warm presence of Something good? It’s going to be different things for different people, of all faiths and beliefs.

So... here's an Easter challenge. Can you name two or three really good things in your life? Because being able to voice and talk about your delights with some feeling might just be the most powerful thing you can ever do for someone else. There’s a hoary old Sunday school song that goes ‘Count your blessings name them one by one…’ Well… can you? What are the things that make you glad? Because if you can name your treasures and moments of delight, and talk about them- then you might just have hit on the most amazing thing you can share with a neighbour, a friend or a relative, like I did, with the kingfisher. And once we start sharing from our heart, you never know where it might go next.

A Christmas Gift to Everybody Out There...

Stoke up the fire, light those candles, find that warm armchair and hunker down for a Yuletide tale which thankfully has nothing to do with Christmas, Tiny Tim or the State of the Nation.. 

The Last Swing- a Ghost Story

At the corner on Grange Road, there is a large cherry-tree that comes into blossom at unexpected times of the year. When that happens, people often cross the road to the other side, even if that means taking an extra few minutes to walk along Low Stobhill. Perhaps they find that making that small detour seems to be somehow, slightly less disturbing. Hanging from one branch of the tree is a rope swing that strangely, is never used by the local children. It is sometimes referred to as the place of the McDougals, for reasons often left unexplained. Some researches in Morpeth Library have finally yielded the sad truth, which I set before you now.