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A god in ruins
Posted by Simon Parke, 28 Sep 2020
I am presently enjoying ‘A God in Ruins’ by Kate Atkinson. It is another masterclass in the novel art form from the author; but that is not why I am here.
The title is from a Ralph Waldo Emerson line – ‘A man is a god in ruins,’ which could, I suppose, sound negative, could sound a bit down, though not to my ears…
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Pray silence for...silence
Posted by Simon Parke, 15 Sep 2020
Silence, she calls us, quiet as a mouse, but she calls
Though sometimes we pretend not to hear and imagine words and noise more crucial
Our rituals of distraction, carefully observed, make sure the noise never stops, they resist her calls…
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From self to soul
Posted by Simon Parke, 11 Sep 2020
There is a theme in many different teachings that invites us to forget ourselves, to do away with ourselves – as if who we are is somehow getting in the way.
The truth is, we cannot do away with ourselves for much of the time, for there are things that only our selves can do – like organising a baby sitter, planning a trip, sorting out the shopping, paying the gas bill…
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Talk of suicide
Posted by Simon Parke, 10 Sep 2020
In a week when we are remembering the pain and the trauma around suicide, I recall a meeting with someone close to the edge; someone who had given up on life....
We talk of suicide.
Rhona has tried a few times and failed…a source of some irritation to her.
She has lived week by week of late.
Stay alive until Christmas…stay alive until the New Year…
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How to disagree
Posted by Simon Parke, 27 Aug 2020
Disagreements, like the poor, are always with us.
But is some disagreement better than others? Can we apply some sort of quality control as we listen to a dispute unravel?
Various models have been offered to help us discern the quality of argument…
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In Solitude: Recovering the power of alone, Simon describes solitude as the active path to inner silence and takes us on an enthralling journey there. In a world of haste and distraction, he commends the way of stillness and withdrawal where we can ‘recover the power of alone’.
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Julian of Norwich, contemporary of both Chaucer and Langland, was the first woman to write a book in English. Yet remarkably, she disappeared from view for 600 years, before her rediscovery in the 20th century. My new novel is Julian’s own telling of her life.
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