What a lovely word almost onomatopoeic. I heard it at 7:45 AM this morning when I was making my coffee. It reminds me of a musical instrument, of an imagined Theophone family. The theophone is a bit like a trombone but would emit a soft, almost maudlin, tone. But I jest. The word theophany is a manifestation of God that is tangible to the human senses. In its most restrictive sense, it is a visible appearance of God in the Old Testament period, often, but not always, in human form. So there we are, you can now carry on with your day having gained this essential gem of information. I suppose the non-religious version of the word is revelation.
For everything there is time, and there is time for everything.
This is paraphrased from the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3 verse 1-8 .The actual words are
“there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down the time to build
etc.
You can read the rest if you like. Strange that there is so much repetition. Okay you say, I get the point, there is no need to repeat yourself 16 times. Why so? At a wild guess, because the author wanted to make the point as strongly as he could. Timing is important nay vital. I’m sure that all of us can recall a situation when we get an idea, think about it a bit and maybe put it aside, then try and put it into action and fail. You were given the inspiration for the idea but unbeknown to you it was time sensitive. We unfortunately did not have the trust to action it immediately. A small example of this is when someone’s picture comes into your head, it maybe a sign that work needs to be done or contact needs to be made. What happens? We ignore it or put it aside. The person contacts us and then we are reduced to saying lamely “funny, I was just thinking about you”. Note to self – next time I really must do something about it.
When I think of this quote I attain a quasi meditation state which means that my degree of worrying goes down a couple of notches. We have been asking for about a year now for the trees the bottom of our allotment to be trimmed because those allotment holders near the trees are suffering loss of light. Finally, things came together, the personnel came together, and subject to agreement the trees should be down in a few weeks. There are some things that take far longer than you would wish. We would like things done instantly but unfortunately, connected with everyone that we deal with is a chain of cause and effect over which we have no control and we cannot perceive. A person may want to help you but may be hamstrung by circumstances and you just have to wait for those conditions to become propitious for your particular request.
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This afternoon I went to see my spiritual adviser for what I call a “fill in the gaps” session. My request of the adviser was just to listen to me. I need a counselor to be a sounding board. I find that I can get all sorts of fantasies and imaginations but I can only test them out when I speak it out of my mouth to someone else. If it is genuine, the other person feels it. If it is false, then it bounces back. I discussed my early life and the influences of my parents and although experientially it was a grim and un-remitting experience, at the same time I have to admit that it strengthened my character and gave me a degree of independence which has served me well. We discussed the sharing of beliefs especially of a Christian religious sort. The same principle applies to anything really. In order for you to open your mouth you need to have some indication of the interest from the other party. If a person has had a bad experience with someone who claimed to be a Christian, mentioning the topic will merely set them off and they will get angry at you and retreat even more. As the above says, timing is all.
Funny, this video popped up when I was looking at LinkedIn for something else. It’s about getting permission before you try to sell anything an idea or a service. Pretty simple when you know how and very apposite to what I’ve just been talking about above. I proved my point as I go along.
I think the ideal counsellor or friend is someone who is prepared to listen and empty his or her mind of all prejudices, someone who is neutral and will not instinctively take sides (in this excludes most friends) and someone who is knowledgeable enough to detect when someone is going on a false trail. I do not score very highly on the first point because the statements made by the client cause great mental activity on my part and I can scarcely find it within myself to close my mouth and let them finish what they have to say. PS you don’t have to be particularly intelligent to listen. You just have to have an interest in someone else. The reason is that when you talk the act of articulating helps the brain to function in higher gear and figure out what it should be doing or should not be doing.
This involves thinking – I recommend it.
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