Daffodils In a Garden for Peace

I have spent this last weekend of March in the UK at Woodbrooke Quaker College Birmingham, and I wandered around the garden of many acres to find the different types of daffodils. I gave up counting. Some were very different, some differences were very subtle. Some were fading away or being eaten. Some were in their full glory. I was bounded by time and the need to return to the conference talks. Perhaps the daffodils reflected the topic of our weekend about Unity, Diversity and Boundaries. Although there were many different points of view as there are often are within Quakers there was a unity and peacefulness in the stillness of Meeting, Woodbrooke and its Quaker history.

On return I thought the daffodils and stillness should inspire some writing and Dverse poets hosted by Sarah are working on the Villanelle form. So I have given it a go. More on the form and the links to past poets at end of poem.

 

 

 

 

An Infinity of Daffodils

(Woodbrooke Quaker Garden, March 2019)

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What are words worth when silence calls?

Too many views but 22 types of daffodil flower,

Pensive thoughts when a pale petal falls.

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The worm that wriggles deep within us all.

Now frays the edges of the yellow cloud shower.

What are words worth when silence calls?

–

We gather together to tear down walls.

Dare we dare  discern eternity within one hour?.

Pensive thoughts when a pale petal falls.

–

Bright orange clothes a host of petals small.

Elegant trumpets ready to hide the pollen’s power.

What are words worth when the bees need to call?

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To live in a way that no longer appals.

To hold in the light the insects’ last hour.

Pensive thoughts when a pale petal falls.

–

Is it God calls or some wormlike fear?

The fall of a tear, the lost peace of a flower.

Pensive thoughts when a pale petal falls.

What are words worth when silence calls?

 

 

 

 

 

https://dversepoets.com/  For  Dverse poets  this month there is the opportunity to try out the Villanelle form and read a range of these written by the many talented poets who frequent this very convivial and poetic meeting place. Why not have a go? Check on the link and then on Mr Linky at the end of the post.

Note the villanelle form has to have 19 lines with 5×3 line stanzas, finishing with a quatrain, all  with repeating lines and a rhyme scheme to keep to.

Past poets referred to of course are William Wordsworth and his daffodils and ‘pensive eye’ and William Blake with ‘O sick rose’ and the worm and ‘ to hold infinity in the palm of your hand, eternity in an hour.’

Daffodil Notes

As for daffodils, well the number of varieties that have been cultivated seems to be about 13,000. And the number of wild species from 40 to 60. But it seems this depends on how daffodils are categorised and there are different sources for this information. Still a staggering number as there are also so many hybrids too.

 

 

 

Daffodils are from the Amaryllidacae family, think lilies and one of the old names for daffodil is Lent Lily. These beauties seem to like to lighten up lent as the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter is when they are in bloom. It is thought daffodils are a mispronunciation of Asphodels, see those in a previous post. Perhaps also the English made a play on words with daffadowndilly. Narcissus of course is a name given to this range of species and Linnaeus decided on Narcissus poeticus when he began to classify them. They seem to be the poet’s flower.

Wild daffodils originate from the Mediterranean region and  there is a wild one we saw near our Navasola home in the south of Spain; the wild hooped daffodil. There is also a wild species in the U.K. that can still be found growing wild. The Wildlife Trusts have this link as to where to go. There may not be  the ‘ hosts of golden daffodils’ that Wordsworth saw in the  Lake District but it is good to know that the wild species can still be found.

Wild daffodils in the U.K. https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/where-see-wildlife/where-see-spring-wildlife/wild-daffodils
Small Wild daffodil, hooped daffodil,in Southern Spain in  early April2018

My outcome for the weekend was ….to enjoy: swinging high, walking and watching the geese on the labyrinth, a visit to Cadbury’s Bournville village and watching an amazing woman play the carillon bells. And the conference….threw some light on what unites us.

 

 

Lets hope Spring is not blown away by another cold spell and possible snow.

And let’s hope with so much political turmoil the beauty of nature can unite us and the stillness we can find within bring peaceful and positive outcomes.

Compassion for self, others, nation, world, planet.

Compassion for self, others, nation, world, planet.
I have spent the past 2 weeks travelling around the UK, visiting friends and family. It has not been easy. I have shared in personal tragedy and loss of a loved one, struggles to survive health and economic difficulties. I have also listened to comments and thoughts on the state of our nation after the referendum result to leave the EU. The last weekend I went on a Quaker conference about compassion. The outcome of that has made me think about the nature of compassion, in my own life and in our society and how to harness compassion and kindness for all life on this planet.

Reflection of Woodbrooke in lake

At Woodbrooke Quaker Centre we were privileged to stay in a room where Gandhi once stayed. Non- violent actions against injustice are part of his legacy. One of our speakers was Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, abbot of the Scottish Tibetan monastery. http://www.samyeling.org/ As a Tibetan he spoke of how he left Tibet and became a refugee. He spoke with an understanding of the joy that can be present in our lives and how his first experiences of the Western world surprised him. We seemed to have forgotten how to experience a deep but essential part of our nature. At the monastery there are opportunities for people to recover from addictions and depression. Lama Yeshe did not intellectualise about compassion. He spoke from a deep place within him where there is compassion for all living things.
Qamar Bhatti Khan gave a lively talk about his own experiences in the Handsworth riots, the aftermath and his role in community cohesion. Michael Barnes gave a lecture on work and studies he has been involved in with Inter Faith dialogues. He compared writings from ancient Buddhist scripture and Augustin. He also touched on work by Joanna Macy. This interested me because it was at a Joanna Macy workshop organised by Transition Ealing that inspired me to start this blog!

Hannah Gilbert gave an illustrated talk where aspects of compassion in new approaches to therapy and mindfulness techniques were explored. Her father Paul Gilbert has researched and written about how our brain works and how developing compassion can support well being, recovery from trauma, depression. http://compassionatemind.co.uk/about-us
There was also time to talk with a range of people and concerns were often raised about the referendum, challenges of Brexit and the political fall out. My previous post shows my concern about environmental issues. However, I also feel the need to understand the depth of feeling and reaction that led to the vote to Leave the EU. It has seemed like a dividing line has been drawn and many are taking up entrenched positions. Much seems to have been based on fear and mistrust on both sides.
I have begun to feel my anger and frustration over the referendum diminish and by being here I find I can try to understand why people voted to Leave. Am I able to be more compassionate and less argumentative about this?

Since then we have also had The Chilcott report. From this and I read an article about how the human mind does entrench itself in a certain position and even evidence based thinking does not help resolve this but rather the person begins to reframe the evidence. The article showed how Tony Blair has kept doing this. The danger is that the more powerful we are the more likely we are to do this. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36744911 A bbc magazine article titled ‘\how we cover our ears to the facts’

I am also aware of all the recent gun tragedies in the USA and the potential to cause division between people. Obama returned early from his State visit to Spain.He seemed to wish to invoke calm and compassion for all who have lost lives. He also seems to understand evidence, facts and take action based on that. Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela have both inspired succesfull movements to counter great inequality through non violence, reconciliation and compassionate thinking.

I want to end on a sad but hopeful point. A young girl disappeared and her body eventually found along a canal area that I know well in West London. In fact I had been walking with my friend along that route and down to the Thames. The friend had been on the Joanna Macy workshop with me and had encouraged me to blog about nature. It is a lovely and natural place and as we walked on a Sunday busy with cyclists and other walkers. But it can be lonely. Alice Gross lived near here and her body was finally found along the canal.
Her story had been ‘used’ or reframed by the Leave campaign. Her parents felt the need to show her attitudes and ideas through a very thoughtful essay she had had to write in school about the pros and cons of being EU. There is a tragic irony on her comments about criminals crossing borders but she has a very non racist stance. She saw criminals as criminals from whatever country they came from and as human beings .
The black box thinking that has helped to improve aviation safety needs to be a part of all tragic incidences. It helps all learn and improve so that mistakes are not repeated. I am reminded of the Soham murders too. The murderer there was not of another country but another county and the police had failed to link up information across. The parents of Alice in their loss have shown courage and concern . The court inquiry stated that there needs to be an improvement in background checks across countries. It is this procedure that might have saved her life from a man from Latvia who had murdered before.
If I was teaching I am sure I would have asked students to write an essay on the advantages and disadvantages of being in the EU, using reliable sources. I was very moved to read part of the essay of Alice Gross that her parents felt the need to share with the Guardian.
I hope showing some of the extract does not infringe any copyright but shows the careful reflection of a young person. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/11/revealed-alice-gross-argued-against-banning-foreign-criminals-before-her
“It reflects on the good of our country, not only showing the strength and stability of our nation but the trust and cooperation we have to make our world successful, which in turn earns the respect of others,” she says. “Although there are some disadvantages that result in our country having slightly less power over its citizens, but what is power over loyalty and alliance amongst a civilised and peaceful union?
Over 70% of young people voted remain. Perhaps the thoughts expressed by Alice Gross show the concerns of a younger generation with a desire for cooperation, interdependence and non racist approaches to other human beings. A desire to connect, reconnect and be compassionate to all life. Many young people demonstrated their expression of frustration with the vote and their support for their fellow Europeans in a peaceful and non violent way.
We now look forward to some leadership from the conservative party. I hope there will be more compassionate conservatism as Theresa May pledges to address the inequalities that have clearly been shown to exist in our very divided United Kingdom. Maybe the Labour party will have compassion for each other and take a strong role in the new or old road that the country is taking.
Compassion needs courage, a different way of thinking and feeling.It is possibly more than kindness and caring but begins there.
Here are some compassion focus groups that I have encountered at different stages of my life.
The Samaritans. ( And the bible story of the Good Samaritan)
Compassion in World Farming ( A charity started in the 1970s to campaign to end the suffering of farm animals)
Listening with Compassion ( Listening without judgement, from Lew Epstein and Trusting You are Loved)
Compassionate mindfulness ( Paul Gilbert and compassionatemind.org)
Buddhism has no absolutes but if there is to be one it would have to be compassion ( The Dalai Lama)
Joanna Macy workshops on creating compassion for ourselves, others, and the planet.
The hallmarks of a bodhisattva: compassion and insight into the interconnectedness of all beings
http://www.joannamacy.net/

My thoughts are with the people of Nice and perhaps the outpourings help and remind us of how interconnected we are.

Skies over Cropredy, Oxfordshire, UK.

Other sources
matthewsyed.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/BBT-sampler.pdf
1.
Black Box. Thinking. The Surprising Truth About Success. (and why some people never learn from their mistakes). MATTHEW SYED. JOHN MURRAY.

Quote post 3: We do not own the world, and its riches are not ours to dispose of at will.

We do not own the world, and its riches are not ours to dispose of at will. Show a loving consideration for all creatures, and seek to maintain the beauty and variety of the world. Work to ensure that our increasing power over nature is used responsibly, with reverence for life. Rejoice in the splendour of God’s continuing creation.   (Advices and Queries No.42, Quaker Faith and Practice)

Today on the third day of this quote challenge I am using one of the advices from a less well known little red book but one that has inspired me to think about the tradition and spirituality of Quakerism. There are 42 main advices and queries and these are in a small red book. These come from the collective thoughts and wisdom over the almost 400 years of the Quaker tradition and are from the gathered thoughts of individuals and group meetings. I quite like the idea of individuals and groups of people relying more on experience than on a hierarchy of knowledge. There are also many Quaker action groups and although in particular the peace testimony is more well known there are groups concerned with inter faith dialogue, homelessness and housing, and sustainable living.

I like this quote because it shows the respect we should give the natural world and although there may be some I know who are uneasy with the use of the word God I think that finally there is a turning point in religious groups about the way we are systematically destroying so much of this earth. I welcome the Pope’s contribution  and have just bought a diary from a Spanish charity which is church based ( Manos Unidas) with a strong focus on environmental justice for people growing food around the world.

The photographs are the last in the series taken by Ruth Koenigsberger ( See previous quote challenges and Autumn Walks)  We took a walk down the Galaroza path one evening in January past these old beauties in the new pine woods. The old chestnuts seem to have different personalities and faces. Such maturity. Oh to be old and wise as these trees. Or dead and still standing?

Quote Challenge 3

For this quotechallenge I want to show some blogs which have a very close concern for the protection of biodiversity. Extinction is a key threat to many species through a range of man-made effects on the environment. From small plants, insects, to the great mammals that need so much wild space these blogs and many others help me to understand more about precious ecosystems and the work being done to conserve and protect.

Thanks to Jenny in her Kiwi garden for nominating me. She has inspired me to try 3 consecutive days of blogging and get linking.

jennylitchfield.wordpress.com

1. Theresagreen A blog from Wales but also with links to other nature blogs on the blog roll and her very informative blog of when she was in Spain.  and now in  Wales

2.  http://huggers.ca/  Matthew posts about environmental news and his post on wolves with the figure estimated of only 186000 left in the world is a sad comment on the lack of responsibility there has been and still is to the wild world.

3. http://fightforrhinos.com/about/  This speaks out for the desperate need to protect the ever dwindling rhino populations in Africa from poaching.

If any of the nominated blogs wish to take part in the challenge then the idea is to do the following. But no compulsion this is supposed to be fun and if you have the time!

• Post for three consecutive days
• Posts can be one or three quotes per day
• Nominate three different blogs per day

As this challenge comes to an end I shall take a rest and get back to my novel. ( 36000 words so far so I must finish it!)  I am aware that there are many more blogs out there that I would like to feature or credit in some way. Theresagreen has a blog roll which is useful and I will try and follow suit with a similar nature blog roll of those I have come across. I will also try and simplify layout and categories.

Thanks for taking time to read and those who follow me I really appreciate the interest taken. Comments are also very welcome.