The Sacred Call of the Sea

April 11, 2021 / John Bartels / 2 Comments

NB: There is a picture below the post.

It was the English poet John Keats who wrote:

On the Sea

It keeps eternal whisperings around
Desolate shores ….
….
Oh ye! whose ears are dinned with uproar rude,
Or fed too much with cloying melody—
Sit ye near some old Cavern’s Mouth and brood,
Until ye start, as if the sea nymphs quired!

Keats suggests that if we have had enough of this noisy world, we should go to a quiet place by the sea and sit “near some old Cavern’s mouth and brood”. Suddenly, out of the silence we may be startled to hear choirs of sea nymphs singing.

We are being called to go back to nature and to allow her to gently embrace us in her healing arms.

This sacred call of the sea is exquisitely captured in the beautiful photograph below. Be still. Can you hear the call?

A big thank you to Mariska Spoormaker for permission to use her beautiful photograph. Mariska took the picture on the Sacramento Trail near Port Elizabeth in South Africa.

The importance of today

March 24, 2021March 24, 2021 / John Bartels / Leave a comment

Something to think about

Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift.

That’s why it’s called the present.

Bil Keane

Click here for the same message expressed in timeless poetry: “The Salutation of the Dawn”. It is a poem treasured for generations.It is a poem to be remembered forever. Keep safe.

A Precious Gift God Gives Us Each Day

March 22, 2021 / John Bartels / Leave a comment

Each day God gives us 84,400 seconds of life.

What a gift! What a wonderful Giver!

There is no guarantee we will get a refill tomorrow.

Time is passing like the jet in this picture of Big Ben.

Let us be grateful to God and make sure we don’t waste one second.today.

Click here for the same message expressed in timeless poetry: “The Salutation of the Dawn”. It is a poem treasured for generations.It is a poem to be remembered forever. Keep safe.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is john-towner-cakc6u4d95g-unsplash.jpg

Reflections on the loss of a Friend

March 12, 2021 / John Bartels / Leave a comment

I was phoned today from halfway across the world by someone who had just lost a loyal friend. He said he felt he had lost part of himself. After telling him how sorry I was I said I could do no more than read to him the words of John Donne who was Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London from 1621 to 1631. Please listen. You may have to turn up the volume. Thank you.

No man is an island

Who decides how you and I change every moment?

February 19, 2021February 19, 2021 / John Bartels / Leave a comment

You and I don’t just exist. We are always deciding what our existence will be and what we will become the next moment. Why is this true for me and for you? Why is it true for all people? The reason is because we all have free will. As Victor Frankl wrote: “…every human being has the freedom to change at any instant.” The answer to the question? We each decide. No buck passing!

Based on the writing of Victor Frankl

Fabulous Machu Picchu Pueblo – A Lesson

January 31, 2021January 31, 2021 / John Bartels / 2 Comments

“They say the Lion and the Lizard keep
The Courts where Jamshýd gloried and drank deep:
And Bahrám, that great Hunter–the Wild Ass
Stamps o’er his Head, but cannot break his Sleep.”

Omar Khayyam

“Read mark and inwardly digest” – The Book of Common Prayer

Thank you Alex

Change How and What You Read – Forever

January 9, 2021 / John Bartels / 2 Comments

“…life is too short for reading poor books” – Rolf Dobelli (Swiss author and thinker).

Click here to see why Dobelli says this and what advice he has to offer. It may change your reading habits forever.

Food for Thought: How to develop genuine confidence

September 2, 2020 / John Bartels / Leave a comment

“Be clear that confidence and self-esteem are not the same. Self-esteem refers to general feelings about yourself; confidence refers to your belief and feel in that you can perform a task successfully.” Hank Weisenger, Famous psychologist, writer and corporate adviser. Link to source

Please scroll down below the picture

My takeaway from this valuable insight from Psychologist Weisenger? Confidence is in relation to getting a job done. So, how do you develop strong confidence? There is only one way. Find out what you must do to complete the job successfully, Then, work hard to develop the required level of competence. Only then will genuine confidence begin to emerge. As the famous golfer Ben Hogan apparently said: “The secret is in the dirt”.

Photo by SevenStorm JUHASZIMRUS on Pexels.com

Self-esteem alone will not enable anyone to fly a Jumbo Jet from London to New York. Confidence to fly across the Atlantic only comes from rigorous training and lots of hard work. There is no short cut to genuine competence which leads to genuine confidence.

Food for Thought: The Centre Cannot Hold

September 1, 2020 / John Bartels / Leave a comment

Why is there a feeling that things are falling apart in these uncertain times? Do we sense that anarchy is increasingly eroding law and order? What has happened to ethics? Is there a centre that is falling apart? What is that centre? What is your centre? What is my centre?

Scroll below picture on your phone, please.

“Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.”

Opening to The Second Coming – W. B. Yeats, 1865 – 1939

Open your doors to Christ – a message from the writing of Pope Emeritus Joseph Ratzinger

August 24, 2020August 24, 2020 / John Bartels / Leave a comment

Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ—and you will find true life. Amen

Pope Emeritus Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) at the start of his pontificate

Sincere Apology: My earlier post referred to Pope Emeritus Joseph Ratzinger as “late”. This in incorrect.

Link

johnbartels.com

This and That

Quotations

The Sacred Call of the Sea

The importance of today

A Precious Gift God Gives Us Each Day

Reflections on the loss of a Friend

Who decides how you and I change every moment?

Fabulous Machu Picchu Pueblo – A Lesson

“They say the Lion and the Lizard keep
The Courts where Jamshýd gloried and drank deep:
And Bahrám, that great Hunter–the Wild Ass
Stamps o’er his Head, but cannot break his Sleep.”

Change How and What You Read – Forever

Food for Thought: How to develop genuine confidence

Food for Thought: The Centre Cannot Hold

Open your doors to Christ – a message from the writing of Pope Emeritus Joseph Ratzinger

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“They say the Lion and the Lizard keepThe Courts where Jamshýd gloried and drank deep:And Bahrám, that great Hunter–the Wild AssStamps o’er his Head, but cannot break his Sleep.”

Spread the word and share with your friends:

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“They say the Lion and the Lizard keep
The Courts where Jamshýd gloried and drank deep:
And Bahrám, that great Hunter–the Wild Ass
Stamps o’er his Head, but cannot break his Sleep.”