5/365

Finding an old letter written to a friend off to work for a church, it was written about 6 years ago and although it started to read like Baz Luhramans "Wear Sunscreen" at times it contained some very relevant advice for me today. The best snippet is as follows. "You are not the solutions to others problems, God is, he will use you along the way but He can do it without you if you need to sleep. So sleep in the knowledge that God is big enough to do it without you when you sleep and gracious enough to let you in on it when you wake up." (I'm still not sure quoting yourself is a great plan.)

4/365

Standing on my bed, arms resting on the sill of my attic window, gazing out at the street waiting for my family to turn up to play for the afternoon. Watching a recently rain drenched street warmed by the sun, colours brighter than before the rain hit, green of the trees luminous and steam gently rising from the road.

3/365

The moment in a song when the change occurs from a minor to a major key (btw I have NO idea what I'm talking about, a friend told me what was going on when I asked her) and the key changes up a semi tone. The moment that lifts something inside your soul and makes you think that maybe something could be good in this world. The moment that, even in a song of misery and pain, can bring a small light of optimism into the proceedings.

Obviously Westlife use this technique in a negative, stand up for the key change, sense, but go and put on 'The Blowers Daughter' by Damien Rice. The moment near the end as he launches into the "Did I say that I loathe you? Did I say that I want to, leave it all behind?", it's not so much the lyrics but the building haunting sense of lift that the music brings. That even in a world of such pain, such hope can enter and lift the soul.

2/365

(To explain the concept to the passer by, this blog is part of a wider movement dedicated to rooting out the cool in life, the good bits and the bits that rarely get noticed. Admittedly this is more easy on some days than others. There also is the danger that this may get a bit American Beautyesque, no videos of paper bags I promise. But the point is the detail, the fine tuning in a day that makes it work, the moments of life that make up the bigger picture. I'm intrigued to see if anyone can keep this up for a year, and if at the end we'll have produced something amazing, or just a list of some stuff, or maybe both. I have a desire to quantify everything that will follow, to prove it's worth by writing amazing things, being profound and significant. The challenge will be to let the moments just be and not try and dress them up in clothing that others will like or equally appreciate. The challenge is just to notice the cool stuff in a day and write it without attempting to convince others or out-do each other in the search for cool, or measure our lives by each others. But that's pretty much the challenge of most days interacting with those around us.)

It's a testament to a day when you sift through the cool stuff in your mind wondering what to put on the screen.

This afternoon. Sitting in the sun in our garden. The first meal in ages together as housemates, grabbing all the left overs in the fridge from the week and putting them in wraps. Appreciating our surrealist garden which has a washing machine and an old retro 70s swivel chair as a centrepiece. Working out how to stop the ants invading our house. Eating chocolate cake and drinking tea. Fine eye contact moments with an old uni friend, amused at how much we can communicate with facial expressions. Realizing that tomorrow is a Bank Holiday and the pressure of thinking about work tomorrow has gone. This afternoon.

1/365

Time to join a movement. I'm not sure it will change the world, but it is committed to delighting in the details. I LOVE this kind of thing. So here goes.
Today I was sent this in the post:

He's called Barney Hop, and was sent to me by a supporter of the work I do. I guess that's what you get for writing on prayer letters, "Send me chocolate brownies and small furry animals." Cute eh.