Firstly I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Easter. If like me you spent the last couple of days enjoying the sun (apart from a much needed shower yesterday Evening), hopefully everyone agrees that it's pleasant to have a little bit of time off to chill out & maybe see a few friends, catch up with a few people you haven't seen for a while. This is what I was doing yesterday. I rang a friend of mine who'd played bass in my band for many years. He's a couple of years younger than me, but we've played music together since we were teenagers. He moved out of the area three years ago for work. Sadly he made a few bad choices and ended up in prison for 10 months. His crimes were petty theft on gaming machines (but on a fairly large scale, if that makes sense). He got out before Christmas and we've spoken a couple of times. His sentence has given me a rather interesting perspective on our legal system. If a crime where no one gets hurt and the people who are the victims, themselves are responsible for exploitatiion of peoples greed, stupidity and sometimes desparation, what should child molesters, people who mug grannies and rapists get? Sadly some spend the same or less time in prison for far less trivial offences, offences where peoples lives are changed. His term was 2 1/2 years. Next time you see a real scumbag get less, remember this.
I would say that in some ways my friend has benefitted from the experience. He did several courses and the time for reflection has caused him to realise that he needed to change. He'd just been offered a job working for a local authority (who were fully aware of his history) when he found out last week that he's got cancer of the stomach and throat. Hopefully they've caught it early enough to operate. I am truly devastated to hear this. It just reinforces my belief that we shouldn't waste our time and we should try and do things which benefit the wider community, rather than make the choice he made.
Having been thoroughly depressed by the news, we visited St Albans last night to see another friend. She is over from the USA and has had a truly awful time. She had a brain tumour several years ago and a series of operations etc. Just when her life seemed on track, her husband left her for one of her friends. We've not seen her since (that was three years ago). I did wonder if, as we knew her husband first, she was worried we'd "defriended" her. As she's a lovely lady, no chance at all. Anyway, work had brought her to the UK for a couple of weeks. Our friends in St Albans organises a little gathering at the last minute (she only called a couple of days ago) and we had a get together. She looked absolutely fantastic and was in great form. It's clear that she's been hurt but it's pretty clear she has bounced back big time. Of all the people I could have seen, after my earlier conversation, it was the best possible tonic.
Which brings me to my Easter message. This time of year, there are several holidays & festivals. It started off with a friend giving me a mango for Nepali New Year, then there was Passover and finally Easter (apologies if I've missed any other festivals). It struck me that all of these festivals in some way celebrate the same thing. Renewal and change. Many of the traditions associated with Easter are borrowed from pagan traditions, but fit nicely. Eggs signify new life. It is worth noting that in the New Testament, all of the followers of Jesus deserted him and denied him when he was at his darkest moment. They all basically lost their bottle. That could very well have been the end of the whole show. Whether you believe or you don't, there is one lesson that can be learned. Having behaved in a cowardly manner, they got their act together, got over their fears and cowardice and got on with spreading their message.
Which brings us to my message and it's not a religious one. We all have setbacks in our lives. Sometimes we bottle out of doing things we should. Sometimes we don't support our friends when we should. Sometimes we don't do the right thing when we should. My message is this. If we make mistakes, do the wrong thing, we shouldn't sit around moping. We should try and put it right. We should face up to our failings and try and do better. Don't get disheartened, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get things back on the right track.
Happy Easter, passover, Nepali New Year, to you and have a fantastic day. Enjoy the sun whilst it shines.
I would say that in some ways my friend has benefitted from the experience. He did several courses and the time for reflection has caused him to realise that he needed to change. He'd just been offered a job working for a local authority (who were fully aware of his history) when he found out last week that he's got cancer of the stomach and throat. Hopefully they've caught it early enough to operate. I am truly devastated to hear this. It just reinforces my belief that we shouldn't waste our time and we should try and do things which benefit the wider community, rather than make the choice he made.
Having been thoroughly depressed by the news, we visited St Albans last night to see another friend. She is over from the USA and has had a truly awful time. She had a brain tumour several years ago and a series of operations etc. Just when her life seemed on track, her husband left her for one of her friends. We've not seen her since (that was three years ago). I did wonder if, as we knew her husband first, she was worried we'd "defriended" her. As she's a lovely lady, no chance at all. Anyway, work had brought her to the UK for a couple of weeks. Our friends in St Albans organises a little gathering at the last minute (she only called a couple of days ago) and we had a get together. She looked absolutely fantastic and was in great form. It's clear that she's been hurt but it's pretty clear she has bounced back big time. Of all the people I could have seen, after my earlier conversation, it was the best possible tonic.
Which brings me to my Easter message. This time of year, there are several holidays & festivals. It started off with a friend giving me a mango for Nepali New Year, then there was Passover and finally Easter (apologies if I've missed any other festivals). It struck me that all of these festivals in some way celebrate the same thing. Renewal and change. Many of the traditions associated with Easter are borrowed from pagan traditions, but fit nicely. Eggs signify new life. It is worth noting that in the New Testament, all of the followers of Jesus deserted him and denied him when he was at his darkest moment. They all basically lost their bottle. That could very well have been the end of the whole show. Whether you believe or you don't, there is one lesson that can be learned. Having behaved in a cowardly manner, they got their act together, got over their fears and cowardice and got on with spreading their message.
Which brings us to my message and it's not a religious one. We all have setbacks in our lives. Sometimes we bottle out of doing things we should. Sometimes we don't support our friends when we should. Sometimes we don't do the right thing when we should. My message is this. If we make mistakes, do the wrong thing, we shouldn't sit around moping. We should try and put it right. We should face up to our failings and try and do better. Don't get disheartened, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get things back on the right track.
Happy Easter, passover, Nepali New Year, to you and have a fantastic day. Enjoy the sun whilst it shines.
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