As I caught the train yesterday morning the newspapers at
the station said it all. One, reflecting
on England’s defeat on Wednesday, had the headline: World’s End!
To escape from the tension of it all we took the dog out for a walk on The Common during the first half of the game. We drove there and it felt like Christmas Day morning with the roads utterly deserted. Dog owners must be football fans because, for the first time ever, we met not one other dog during the walk.
We got back home for the second half, so I was able to join in the group chat with my brothers on WhatsApp, sharing the joys and sorrows with short and often funny (by them!) observations about the game.
Like so many others I was disappointed it ended
the way it did, although it did strike me that those churches who still have evening
services now know they’ll have a congregation this Sunday – unless they are full
of tennis fans!To escape from the tension of it all we took the dog out for a walk on The Common during the first half of the game. We drove there and it felt like Christmas Day morning with the roads utterly deserted. Dog owners must be football fans because, for the first time ever, we met not one other dog during the walk.
We got back home for the second half, so I was able to join in the group chat with my brothers on WhatsApp, sharing the joys and sorrows with short and often funny (by them!) observations about the game.
Over recent years I’ve been helped by the Franciscan, Richard Rohr, and in particular his wonderful book: Falling Upwards. In it he basically says one of the most important tasks for us all, especially during the second half of life, is learning to cope with failure, disillusionment and disappointment; hence that intriguing title: Falling Upwards. We all fall down, it’s how we get up that counts. Indeed, he goes even further and says life’s greatest and deepest lessons are generally learnt during episodes of disappointment.
Of course, none of this is easy. Yet, just maybe, after we have fallen and then struggled to get up we begin to sense the value of second chances, forgiving partners, fresh opportunities and the discovery of new strength.
There is a rather lovely Japanese tradition of valuing a cracked dish. Sometimes a damaged one will be repaired by a golden resin which then holds it together in an overtly obvious way. There is no attempt to hide the damage, indeed, this dish is now highly prized, faults and all! It has ‘gone through the mill’ and survived.
Whilst none of us go looking for disappointments, rejection, health scares or a crisis of faith, Richard Rohr encourages us to see them with something of the hope filled, optimistic and deep life of God.
So…. hats off to the cheerful taxi driver I saw yesterday in Oxford Street still proudly flying two St George’s flags – now that’s ‘Falling Upwards’ in style!
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