My thoughts and I

Hello,
       I often think I think too much. Take today for instance, it's been one of those longer than ordinary days, It started about six thirty this morning and after putting on Daybreak I had my first serious thoughts of the day. I posed myself two questions, Does Ranvir Singh earn significantly more money presenting  on National Morning TV than she did working alongside Gordon Burns on regional BBC North West tonight? and secondly does John Stapleton wear a wig?

I often find myself thinking really silly things. This afternoon I took my dog Fletcher, on a walk 'up' to Townley, one of Burnleys' prettier locations. And I did spend an awful lot of time pondering if my car would be okay where I had parked it. The trouble was I was parked near a dropped curve and a few weeks ago I got stung by the parking police because I had indeed parked on a dropped curve.So I got out of the car, got Fletcher out of the boot, looked at my bonnet and summarized there was a possible 'grey area' if the friendly car park attendant walked by and recognized my car as a repeat offender. So I put Fletcher back in the car and reversed a good two to three inches. I got out of my car and once again got Fletcher out in readiness for our walk 'up' Townley, only to face another point of issue.  I was now faced with another dilemma. Had I left enough space fore the car behind me in case he wanted to vacate his parking space? I summarized, Probably not.  And so we jumped back in the car with the dog, at which point Fletcher was completely bewildered what was going on and gave me a look of impatience! I then drove, the 6 to 7 feet forward where the was no dropped pavement, no car to my front and non to my rear. Why I didn't do that in the first place is completely beyond me!

So we set off, Within about thirty seconds of our walk commencing I realized I had left my Ipod in the car, as well as the dog lead, and so returned to the vehicle, whilst Fletcher did his business, which posed the next mental conumdrum. Should I pick up his poo and leave it in the car or should I carry it until the next red bin? I went for the latter and so finally we were on our way. It was damp and miserable but being a enthusiastic Christian I vowed to make conversation with anybody and everybody I might encounter on our walk 'up' Townley.  The first person I encountered was a Green keeper from the nearby golf club. I didn't need to 'break the ice' so to speak, As he drove up to me switched off his golf buggy to kindly inform me 'There is a bin for his shit, just up there.' I tried to respond with a hint of gratefulness, 'Right thanks' I replied and just kept on walking alone with Fletcher, My bag of dog poo and my thoughts.After disposing of my dog poo, in the bin 'just up there' I  encountered a man in a in a bright yellow coat blowing the Autumn leaves off the pavement and I was unsure if he would stop his hoovering to let me pass or should I consider crossing the road? He made the decision for me as he indeed switched off his turbo piece of machinery. How kind, I thought, I will make conversation with this kind Sir! 'That'll keep you going for a while' I said jollily. There was no reply, just a look of, 'get a move on man' Undeterred I went for another killer comedy line 'You can come and do my lounge if you like'. Nothing not a titter, It was only a moment later I considered it was probably the massive earphones his was wearing that prevented him from being highly amused at my park environment humor.

I passed a man trundling along in a mini digger, As much as I tried he totally refused eye contact, and he completely gave me and Fletcher the cold shoulder. I understood although Fletcher looked a little troubled!
I ventured up through the golf club for nostalgic purposes to find the hut that gave me the inspiration for my as yet 'unsigned' sitcom 'Tales From the Hut' many years ago. It was a mossy old pathway with a difficult terrain and had a rather troublesome moment where Fletcher was being followed by a dog, who's owner wanted to go in a totally different direction to the one we were travelling, but my motto is always 'keep walking' so by the time the owner finally caught up with us I got the feeling the only thing he wanted to discuss is why didn't I  bloody stand still.

I approached an elderly couple, so I removed my earphones and lifted my crucifix onto my outer garmentation in preparation for a friendly chat. at the crossover point, 'Hello' I said in my jolly Christian way. Nothing, not a bloomin dickie bird they just kept on walking! Please yourself I thought.
I then met a man with a dog, who had lost his dogs ball, He asked me to keep an eye out. I told him I would keep an eye out! I never saw his ball, but to be honest the Christian enthusiasm was now wearing thin. I certainly wouldn't have run up the great big hill I'd just descended if I had found it!

I walked round the back of the hall and down passed the cafe to begin the homeward journey back to my car. There was a thick stench of tarmac as the main road to the hall was being  resurfaced. Nobody spoke except for me shouting at Fletcher to hurry up.  As the months go by he seems to becoming less interested in anything  important I have to say to him. On my return I once again passed the man with his garden vac, who this time, didn't even bother reducing the revs! He just carried on and showed no concern  that myself and Fletcher had to walk in the road to avoid a confrontation.

Where's all this leading, well eventually it lead back to the Car, but it does make me think about isolation, I do enjoy my own company but sometimes I think, I need to stop thinking so much. So I can only imagine what it was like for Jesus to spend 40 days and 40 nights alone. I sometimes wonder if we spend too long  alone with our own thoughts, we are not allowing Jesus to enter our minds. So how do we eventually get to a place of tranquility and peacefulness. In my case I must say the nearest I get to that is in my time of prayer and reflection. There are three places I find this. Firstly in church, not always, but sometimes the whole tone is just perfect, when the sermon, goes perfectly well with the hymns, and the sermon and the hymns go perfectly well with the prayers, and the hymns and the sermons and the prayers just feel perfect alongside sharing communion with my fellow Christians.
Also at home, in my prayer/ toy/ gym/ book room, I can feel so close to God it is amazing, the room is not a holy place, it has Bart Simpson posters on the walls, hundreds of CDS, dolls, prams, all sorts of junk, but in the darkness and stillness of me a candle and prayers I can clear out my clutter and be at peace with the world and feel incredibly close to God.
The final place is out with Fletcher, I didn't feel it on my walk today, but sometimes, the nature around me is incredibly moving, I had a beautiful fly pass by a Heron the other day, it was just stunning, it was if he was performing just for me. Seeing deer, foxes, rare birds when you least expect it is just so lovely.
What's the message? Find space, use it well and be at peace with yourselves and others.
And may the love of God be with you always.
Until next, be happy!
Alextheanglican.