On seeing a goat.


I saw a goat in a tree today.

Not a real one. Well it was a real tree, but not a real goat. That wouldn't have been appropriate in a coffee shop.

I'd been for a swim in the river, and was having a coffee and something to eat with my swimming buddies. 

And there it was.

In the corner of the courtyard.

A misshapen tree. (Is that how you spell it?)

And as we were pondering why it was that shape, and observing the strength of the branches, I spotted the goat, and pointed it out on request.

I'll be honest, only one of my companions could see it. Either that, or she knows me well enough to play along? The other one, who had only met me once before, was just looking at me a bit oddly...


So my thoughts today are that we see what we want to see. 

We hear what we are listening for. 

We speak what we have learned.


The challenge I'm setting myself today is to fix my thoughts.

Not on all that is wrong with the world.

Not on Boris. (Don't get me started...)

Not on the things I've lost, or missed out on, but on the things Paul points me to in Philippians 4.


Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on 

things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious

—the best, not the worst; 

the beautiful, not the ugly; 

things to praise, not things to curse. (v.8)


It's not easy while there are humans in the world we live in.

And did I mention Boris? 

But it's worth a shot, and certainly better than the alternative. 

Come on, my fellow-fixers of thought, let's give it a go. We can do this.

Lots of love xx


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