Pause for Thought

Jonathan Simon, Church of the Sacred Heart and St Aldhelm

There’s a lot going on in the world. As usual. We recently lost our Queen, who has played such an important part in the life of this country for the last 72 years. We’ve had droughts in many places, floods in many others. There’s war in Ukraine. There are conflicts of all sorts, here and there. We could say that this has been a bad year so far.

In fact, all years are difficult years for someone, somewhere. We are particularly conscious of the difficulties of life when they affect us, or people we care about, and we are aware that others are struggling when we watch the news. Sometimes our lives seem to be going smoothly, and then we get an upset. If we look back at our lives so far, however young or old we may be, we can see so many changes: new schools, new homes, new jobs, new friends and things we’ve lost. Things we’ve left behind; family, homes, jobs etc. The particulars are different for us all, but our lives are full of change.

Here in Great Britain today, many of us are concerned about climate change, Covid, the NHS, food prices, and energy costs – no doubt we could all extend that list if we wish.

Our changing world is still the same wonderful world we grew up in. It is still full of marvels. It is still stunningly beautiful. It is still full of generous, kind and loving people, who give their time and energy to help and support those around them.

We live, as we always have, in a world that contains both good and bad, and rich and poor.

In these times, which are essentially just the same as all times, each one of us has plenty of opportunities to try to be the best we can be. To do whatever we can to encourage our politicians to look after the poorest, to promote policies to combat climate change, and to work for peace. To give what we can to the food banks, charities, and emergency appeals.

We have the opportunity to be good neighbours, in a world where everyone is our neighbour.