Pistis reclaims and wonders...: 2020

Thursday 24 December 2020

Pistis reclaims the miracle of the birth of a baby (weekending December 26th 2020)

‽istis reclaims the miracle of a baby (weekending December 26^th 2020)

In this ‘Christmas week’: celebrated, cancelled, someone-else’s festival, meaningful, met with indifference, commercialised, believed, appropriated, TV-binge-ridden, alcohol-binge-ridden, domestic abuse-ridden, ignored, resented, rejoiced-in, delivered in a van, worked-through, argued-through, loved-through, slept through, wept-through… ‽istis reclaims and wonders at the birth of a baby:

‽ not an apparent history-splicing, GM human/divine hybrid, specific-faith-venerated Christ-child - supposedly bringing ‘peace on earth’, ‘goodwill’, etc., etc.[i] whose birth was purportedly heralded by angels, witnessed by shepherds, and re-enacted by schoolchildren (if only online) in the guise of assorted third camels, second astronauts, Santas[ii], dinosaurs and the occasionally tea-towel be-clad etc., etc…

‽ not just the birth of another very naughty boy (among the oh, so many naughty boys of ‘history’)

…but every single baby[iii].

Each one perhaps an utter, utter miracle of DNA; of planning or non-planning; of more or (sometimes very-much) less loving close encounters; of science and physician-assisted skill; of nature and nurture in glorious interaction…

Whose averagely adult blood vessels laid end to end would circle the Equator four times; whose average tummy button may hold 67 different types of bacteria (in symbiotic symbolism?); who averagely may lose 44kg of skin cells every year (in a seemingly endless physical transformation?); whose typical nerves carry information around at about 400kph; who may not shed an actual tear until perhaps a month after birth (but may shed many thereafter?); whose averagely life-spanned heart (chance and social circumstance permitting?) will quite possibly beat more than 3 billion times[iv] (and occasionally skip a beat in wonder and love and gratitude?), etc., etc…

And, as perhaps for some, Christmas leads to Easter; so too ‽istis wonders and rejoices and sometimes despairs at what birth leads to…

But ‽istis wonders also: if we could possibly kneel in adoration, and reclaim and wonder a little more at the miracle of the birth of every single child, might we just imagine again how different the world could be?

NB: further reflections and comments linked to this week’s theme and past blog
entries to be found on Twitter: replies, retweets (which don’t necessarily indicate approval, sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’: @Pistis_wonders

[i] That went well… discuss!

[ii] …because if we believe in Father Christmas and his physics-defying present-delivering ways, well we might just believe in any old (bah!) humbug…

[iii] All estimated 385,000 of them today: https://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/How-Many-Babies-Are-Born-Each-Day

[iv] All information from: https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/science/general-science/15-facts-about-the-human-body/ (N.B: words in parenthesis, Pistis’ own for dramatic effect!) And, of course, as ever – you might like to add your own quite interesting ‘facts’…

Sunday 20 December 2020

Pistis reclaims communication (weekending December 19th 2020)

‽istis reclaims communication (weekending December 19^th 2020)

This week ‽istis reclaims and wonders at and about communication

‽ the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child article 12: and those children and young people who are not heard or who cannot speak of their experiences; who over the centuries have not had the words, or the voice, or the chance to tell[i]

‽ the ‘round robins’ that are winging their winter flight path round the globe, bringing news of the achievements of off-spring (grades, jobs, pursuits of an extraordinary nature) - or of the year in ailments and treatments… and somehow including new strains of best wishes for a happier new one after ‘what a year!’[ii]

‽ the power of a phrase (likely unscripted, spontaneous, and perhaps so prescient of a majority): “Oh, shut up, man!”[iii]

‽ the open Socratic questions[iv] that can unlock thinking, exploration, self-discovery, expression in one’s own terms

‽ the message of Christmas… though Pistis is puzzled by talk of trying to protect a meaningful Christmas (which looks in jeopardy with a message change perhaps likely) - are some expecting a display of divine intervention or something? #DivineIntervention #Christmasisnottheonlyfestival #ComeonGodshowyourhand #Isamiracletoomuchtoaskfor

‽ the words and pictures conveying data about new strains, about R rates that may change a political mind, that may change dramatically the rules, that may change the plans for families, that may shut down a country, that may badly ice the cake for skin-of-the-teeth-hanging businesses, that may leave many isolated and in despair

‽ the ‘downstairs’ and 'outside' stories balancing the ‘upstairs’ stories; the herstories[v] and theirstories and ourstories balancing the history and histories.

And this week ‽istis overheard perhaps, possibly, maybe the communication question of the week from a security man (in the waiting area of a Covid-19 vaccination area of a hospital) responding to a colleague who had declined to give an opinion (“oh, I couldn’t say…”) with: “but if you could say… what would you say?”… genius and effective…

[i] For an example of ‘the untold story of child abuse’ see work by Lloyd deMause https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_deMause

[ii] For a window into this world see, for example: Simon Hoggart: ‘The Round Robin Letters: The Ultimate Collection of Christmas Letters’ (2014)

[iii] Biden to Trump, 2020 American Presidential Election debates

[iv] For example, see: http://changingminds.org/techniques/questioning/socratic_questions.htm

[v] For example: Kay Jones: the herstorian.co.uk; Alice Wroe: About — Herstory (herstoryuk.org); The Herstorians

Sunday 13 December 2020

Pistis reclaims resilience (weekending December 12th 2020)

‽istis reclaims resilience and recovery (weekending December 12^th 2020)

This week ‽istis wonders at…

‽ the potential legacy of neglect, abuse, toxic stress, needs not met (where the how and why have been long lost)

‽ the potential effects of chronic illness, of cognitive or learning difficulties, of neuro-diversity, of disablement

‽ the potential impact of a lack of fundamental secure trust-worthy relationships, of a safe haven, of a safe base

…and how they may all possibly mix and interact to create a ‘now’ of sometimes overwhelming feelings and thoughts – and a ‘right now’ of sometimes overwhelming behaviours. And the balance may be tipped far, far from resilience into extreme vulnerability…

And yet, and yet - ‽istis looks afresh at words from a report, from a book, from a project:

· ‘In general, children who have been abused or neglected need nurturance, stability, predictability, understanding, and support. They may need frequent, repeated experiences of these kinds to begin altering their view of the world from one that is uncaring or hostile to one that is caring and supportive… And the longer a child lived in an abusive or neglectful environment, the harder it will be to convince the child’s brain that the world can change.’[i]

‘..change continues throughout the life-cycle so that changes for better or for worse are always possible. It is this continuing potential for change that means that at no time of life is a person invulnerable to every possible adversity and also that at no time of life is a person impermeable to favourable influence’[ii]

· I have, I am, I can[iii]:

I HAVE: People around me I trust and who love me, no matter what. People who set limits for me so I know when to stop before there is danger or trouble. People who show me how to do things right by the way they do things. People who want me to learn to do things on my own. People who help me when I am sick, in danger or need to learn.

I AM: A person people can like and love. Glad to do nice things for others and show my concern. Respectful of myself and others. Willing to be responsible for what I do. Sure things will be all right.

I CAN: Talk to others about things that frighten me or bother me. Find ways to solve problems that I face. Control myself when I feel like doing something not right or dangerous. Figure out when it is a good time to talk to someone or to take action. Find someone to help me when I need it.

…and hopes!

[i] Understanding the Effects of Maltreatment on Brain Development CWIG 2009

[ii] John Bowlby: A Secure Base 2005 p.154

[iii] Microsoft Word - P&R_08_Resilience.doc (bibalex.org) A guide to promoting resilience in children:

strengthening the human spirit E.Grotberg

Saturday 5 December 2020

Pistis reclaims waiting (weekending December 5th 2020)

‽istis reclaims waiting* (weekending December 5^th 2020)

This week ‽istis is waiting…

‽ for a deal or no deal in the UK and Europe, just how far can no island really be an island - and to see whose narrative of blame, victory or defeat may possibly later prevail

‽ for the vaccines - and to see perhaps who might actually be the ‘we’ in ‘no-one is safe until we are all safe’

‽ to see if Covid-19 and the response proves to be a distraction from, or a fresh-revealing spotlight on - what perhaps is, was and has long been the existential threats everyday to so many individual children and adults, families, communities, regions, species flora and fauna, ecosystems – the very planet…

‽ to see how far a ‘new normal’ might end up looking rather like the old normal - even though perhaps, possibly, maybe we have been reminded that, if we will:

· international organisations can

· governments can

· science can

· politics can

· we can

Perhaps, possibly, maybe – this Advent (if it means something to some of us/you), we might stop waiting for the cavalry of a specific nativity, for the cavalry of Calvary (if a Christian persuasion is yours), for any exogenous source of salvation in the present or future while we live or when we die… and consider that perhaps there may be simply here and now and us, and that this might also just be enough - if we could but imagine it and realise it; what would it take – a pandemic or something…‽

*and gets a bit preachy; apologies!

Thursday 26 November 2020

Pistis reclaims consensus (weekending November 28th 2020)

‽istis reclaims consensus (weekending November 28^th 2020)

This week ‽istis wonders, when, for example and apparently:

‽ the margin is 51.9% to 48.1%[i] - or - 80,063,589 votes to 73,904,195 votes[ii]

‽ 59% of respondents in the UK 2011 census indicate a Christian belief and 41% claim a belief in another religion or none[iii]

‽ despite the ‘spectrum’ approach of the Democracy Index[iv], it seems that 57% of countries could be considered to be democracies of some kind[v]

‽ the UN reports that just 5% of heads of government around the world are female[vi]

‽ c.2/3rds of the British Cabinet are privately educated (Feb 2020)[vii]

‽ the world’s 2,153 billionaires have more wealth than the 4.6 billion people who make up 60 percent of the planet’s population - and the 22 richest men in the world have more wealth than all the women in Africa[viii]

‽ the United States spent around 718.69 billion US$ on its military in 2019[ix] and New Zealand planned to spend 3.29 billion US$ even after a 23% increase[x]

..then how is ‘consensus’ created or sustained especially in situations where there may be no written constitution[xi]; where the ‘evidence’ or the science may be contested (for example: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 / SARS-CoV-2[xii]), let alone the policies based on it; where a ‘post-modern’ incredulity towards meta-narratives (after Lyotard[xiii]) perhaps asks much of that which is considered accepted/given/non-other in either our ‘histories’ or our various ‘presents’…?

And then ‽istis wonders whether there has ever really been a ‘consensus’… or whether what any ‘we’ calls consensus might be no more or no less than the views of the ‘currently powerful’…

· perhaps however that power might have been rooted[xiv]: physical strength (and its extension in weaponry and arms small or nuclear) and related ableism; gender; sexual orientation; wealth, ownership of the means of production, heredity; social status or class or caste; education; age; race; religion; etc…

· possibly, however that power may have been acquired, buttressed, maintained, imposed or manifest…

· maybe, however that power has been used to claim an understanding of apparent consensus - or the right to decide what may be the accepted, declared or unquestioned sense of consensus…

And perhaps in recognising the means of gaining, holding and exercising power- and of defining ‘consensus’ - we possibly begin to recognise the clothes that Emperors anywhere and anywhen may put on to hide their shared nakedness?