This is (one of) the recurrent question(s) of a society which, like it or not, is moving towards a postmodern way of thinking.  What is?  No not that.  Rather, how can every point of view be acceptable, and equally valid, when some assert the suppression of others? 

This blog is getting a bit more popular.  For those of you interested in numbers, we had 860 hits in April.  Probably not by 860 different people, but it’s impressive nonetheless.  Well, I think so.  So now might be a reasonable time to ask ourselves whether some opinions are not acceptable; whether some things cannot be said.

We do have the same problem in actual Headspace meetings, but the internet does present different problems.  Or perhaps they’re much the same, just to a different extent online.  A problem with the internet, blogging and posting and so forth is the relative anonymity of it.  You (and when I say ‘you’, I do of course mean ‘one’) can say anything, and there it is for anyone who cares to read it to see.  Who cares about the consequences?  Secondly, it’s not a conventional conversation.  You can say what you like and you can’t be interrupted.  You can’t be asked to clarify mid-flow.  You can just keep going for as long as you like, and only then can people respond.  Often in kind – if they don’t agree or if they find it offensive, their response can just as easily be offensive to the recipient.

So what can’t we say?  Is there anything we can’t say?

Well, it’s not my place to make up any rules.  Obviously.  But how about a suggestion or two, simply because I’ve read so many message boards and blogs and such like which end up becoming slanging matches – generally between the few most vocal commentators. 

Firstly don’t expect everyone to agree with you.  When you say something, people have a right to reply.  Even if they’re wrong.  Especially when you’re wrong.  Be controversial, but always be prepared to back up what you say.  And accept the possibility that you may be wrong.  Think about what others have actually said, and try to understand where they’re coming from.  Imagine you’re actually saying it to actual people.  You are.  Say what you want here, but don’t necessarily assume that it’ll be left for everyone to read if it is truly offensive.  (Although that does raise the question of who decides…)

Language is a wonderful thing, but it is limited – there are ambiguities and there is confusion, as we all have at least slightly different understandings of the world we find ourselves in and the symbols we use to represent it.  And much as I love language I think it would be fair to say that miscommunication – in fact language itself – has surely been an essential component of all atrocities, war and oppression that humans have ever carried out.  Nothing more than small scale violence would be possible without such an advanced form of communication. 

So does that mean we should rid ourselves of language?  Or should we try to communicate a little better?

I’ve always had my doubts about church.co.uk as a name for a church.  But now I’m beginning to have second thoughts about the name Headspace.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headspace .  As far as I know, there is no connection.  I hope not anyway.

I must confess that I’m not a great sleeper.  Well, that’s not entirely true – give me a seat on a bus (or even a place to lean), my desk at work, or an engrossing film, say, and then just try to keep me awake.  But as for night time, in bed?  Well, that’s something quite different.  I’ll either lie awake for hours, despite my desperate need for sleep, or I will get to sleep at a reasonable time and then wake up a couple of hours later.  And then, in the morning, I’ll have to force myself out of bed, feeling like I haven’t slept at all. 

But I don’t mean just to moan about a mild case of insomnia.  There is an important point here.  Honestly.  Well, I think there might be. 

 A point at least is that sleep is a fascinating thing.  It is essential for us as creatures to rest, to slow down.  To switch off.  We can’t keep going forever – we need to recharge. 

Just this week, for no good reason, a quote from Gandhi came to mind.  It’s this: ‘Each night, when I go to sleep, I die.  And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn.’  It’s one of those sayings that could probably be taken in a number of ways.  At its most basic level, you could say that sleep is indeed like a taste of death, or an end.  Loss of consciousness, of control, of even awareness of our surroundings.  At the very least it puts life on hold for a bit.  But on awaking, well, we’re back into the fray, we’re back in control (or are we?).  We’re alive again.

But I’m sure he had more in mind than that.  For me, at least, it has real resonances with aspects of the Easter story, and what it tells us about what might be revealed to us at the cross.  What Gandhi seemed to have been saying was that at the end of any given day, I consign to that day all that I was, everything that concerned me, everything I did, every mistake I made, as well as any positive things I’ve done.  They are behind me.  And in the morning, I can know that they are not going to control today.  Today I can have a new start.  

Maybe in reality it is impossible to live outside the consequences of what we’ve done – good and bad – but perhaps the idea is that our attitude will not be to let guilt over the past control our future; not to let pride over past successes stop us from doing still more.

That I think is a huge part of Easter.  Jesus’ death and resurrection tells us of the freedom God offers us from those things which control us – not just from the things we’ve done wrong and the guilt that comes from them, but also from those very assumptions we make (often about ourselves) that continue to control us – those ways that we fall short (or feel that we fall short) of who we should be.  We can start again each day. 

At least, that’s the theory.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who (rightly or wrongly) recoils at the concept of a ‘born-again’ Christian.  It obviously has its roots in the Bible, and Jesus’ own statement that ‘no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’ John 3:3.  But the emphasis tends to be on it being a one time thing – a decision one makes, at a meeting, which one then follows up with a set prayer.  But I have my doubts.  I think this idea of rebirth (which has transformed from a beautiful metaphor to quite an ugly cliché) is about an ongoing, daily, thing.  Because we never have it sorted.  We always need a new start.

 Well, I know I do.  Basically, I guess what I’m saying is that I’d like to be able to say for myself ‘Each night, when I go to sleep, I die.  And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn.’  Or, to put it another way – perhaps I wish it could be Easter every day.  And not just for the chocolate.

Perhaps a little less frivolous (or pointless, if you will), here are some of the items used in Headspace in the run up to Easter. Using a number of the characters to bring out different aspects of the story, these are a few vague meditations/prayers, and a bit of liturgy.

confession (The Thief on the Cross)

Lord, we are aware of the idiocy of gathering in your name with the pretence that all is well with us.

Lord, we are aware not only that we fall far short of you, but also that we fall far short of ourselves; of who you made us to be.

Lord, reconcile us to you, and continue the work of creating us. Strengthen the creation to take part in the creating.

praise (The Roman Centurion)

Spark in me awe in all that is.

Fill me to overflowing with your joy and love until I can’t keep it in!

Open up my whole being to breathe in, and to breathe out your loving, life-giving breath!

We thank you for the wonder of life!

intercession (Simon of Cyrene)

Do I have any strength left in me?

I must stand for those who cannot stand and speak for those who cannot speak, but my legs are giving way, my breath is short.

Give me the strength to carry another’s cross today; and the strength to allow another to carry mine.

liturgy (Pontius Pilate)

Where do we find ourselves?

Do we find ourselves before the crowd?
Or do we find ourselves the crowd?

Who do we choose:

The Crowd? Or Christ?
Murderer? Or Messiah?

Do we wash our hands?

All: Are we cleansed by the water, or by the blood on our hands?

Where do we stand?

Do we stand by what is fair?
What is just?
What is open?

Or are we swayed;
do we defer our choices to others?

To ensure I do nothing wrong,
will I do nothing?

Do we wash our hands?

All: Are we cleansed by the water, or by the blood on our hands?

We are cleansed.

Perhaps not everyone will know, but today is a very special day.  Yes, it is St Patrick’s Day, but that is truly shadowed by something else commemorated today.  Follows is a short poem in celebration.  Hopefully it is self-explanatory.

On march seventeenth much was made of making merry

For a gentleman specifically by the name of Stephen Perry.

But it was not just him, but the whole of England,

Who were celebrating patenting of the rubber band. 

.

It’s a short length of rubber, and it’s shaped into a loop,

And enables you to gather things together in a group.

It is made from a rubber of a type that’s vulcanized,

It can be varicoloured, as well as variously sized. 

.

It uses are innumerable, a bit like whale blubber,

And the rubber that is used is in fact natural rubber.

This is largely due to its superior elasticity,

Oh do join in singing praises to its versatility! 

.

So one hundred and sixty three years of such elastic,

I’m sure you would agree that it’s something quite fantastic.

So take a moment, ask yourself just what would have been,

If not for 1845, and March the Seventeen.