Category: Life

The magic that is us

~ hlttf ~ Leave a comment

Have you ever thought about how unique you are?

Think of this – when you were conceived a random one of  around 35.000 eggs in your mother’s ovary was fertilised by a random one of up to 300 million sperm. The chance of their being another person exactly like you is so small it is negligible.  You are unique!  Now that feels special.

But we are more than unique, we are amazing.  I have watched babies being born and given birth to my own children. Seeing a tiny new body appear is an awesome and tender moment.  But when the baby takes its first breath and cries the moment becomes magical.  A new life has begun.

Understanding the marvel and the magic that is us is key to living our best life. Here is an inspiring glimpse into the excitement of a mathematical modeller as he discovered how technology gave him a window into the magic that is us.

Freed to love life . .

~ hlttf ~ Leave a comment

When you hit a tough patch in life, what happens?

In our western world we have a low tolerance to discomfort, illness, uncertainty.  Problems are unacceptable and need to be fixed. If we cannot find a solution we can easily slip into depression, anger and self-pity.

And then we come across someone who inspires us, showing us that life can be deeply rewarding, even happy, in the most difficult of circumstances.

One such person is Abigail Witchalls.  She was left paralysed in 2005 after being stabbed in the neck in front of her 21 month old son. She was only 26 years old and pregnant with her second child.

Within 3 weeks of the injury, she began to write poetry, each letter slowly spelled out by blinking her eyes to her father.

Still silent body

But within my spirit sings

Dancing in love-light

Abigail gave birth to a second son 5 months later and had a daughter in 2010. Following a trip to Lourdes she wrote about her inner journey of coming to terms with what happened to her.

Since my spinal injury the previous year, I had prayed for healing. And now in Lourdes I asked God to “heal me in the way I need most, according to Your will.” He did heal me – not physically – but He freed me to love life and to know daily the joy I had longed for. To my surprise, I find that I have more to give now that I’m paralysed than I did when I was able-bodied. This is one of God’s little miracles.

A story like this is inspiring but also challenging. Abigail speaks of being freed to love life. She gives us a clue about her inner resources.

“Within my spirit sings” . . . despite circumstances.

We can learn a lot from her.