Namaste

Namaste .. I love this greeting and wish we used it more here in our own country. It is of course a beautiful sentiment but I love the gesture as to me it really represents genuine love and respect when it is given to me or if I give it to another. In my church we have a time in every mass where we wish each other peace in our lives and we do this by holding hands and saying the words "Peace be with you" with as many people as we can reach out to during the moment. It has now also become the custom to look towards those we are not near enough to reach and to raise our hands in the Namaste greeting to each other. I love this, it fills me with such a joy. Perhaps it is the simplicity of the beautiful gesture, the loving greeting but perhaps above all, for me, it represents a universal love between faiths and beliefs. This greeting is now being used widely in the catholic church you see and for me, that is a very wonderful step forward into a more loving, respectful and compassionate society. What a beautiful day I have been fortunate enough to have. Friday morning is Dawn Chorus morning - our choir - and here I have made so many lovely new friends over the past two years, not least of all our wonderful teacher, Julie. Our choir is such a friendly and harmonious group of people which is not always easy to find. There is zero "clickiness" and 100% friendship, laughter and real joy. Singing brings such joy. We have to work hard and Julie pushes us to our limits but when we get there, we are absolutely .... joyous! We are about to sing our annual summer busk next weekend in Shoreham which is preceded by a rehearsal in St Mary de Haura Church in Shoreham where the acoustics are wonderful and all of us, without exception, experience that special feeling when we are in a very beautiful spiritual moment. I have no idea which of us have or don't have faiths, or what they may be, but when we sing we reach that moment of transcendence - I know we do. The feeling is palpable in the room but especially so when we sing in a church or a place of worship. Something is happening and that is so beautiful. Anyway after choir I went with two of my friends, Viv and Sue, to buy our annual summer gift for Julie our teacher. We went to a beautiful garden centre and found exactly the most perfect gift (will tell you more another day) then had lunch together. It was so lovely. Two special friends, one I have know for over 40 years and one I met two years ago in the choir but both are close and precious friends. Yes indeed I had a pretty much perfect day. I hope your day was a good one too. Namaste dear friends.