In the 1980s there was a period of eighteen months when I had a production in the West End of my adaptation of Helene Hanff’s 84 Charing Cross Road, followed by another production of it on Broadway, as well as a tour of Private Lives with Joanna Lumley. I was writing an entertainment for Maureen Lipman about Joyce Grenfell, and at the same time a biography of the actor Richard Wilson, and a book about ritual. In addition I had a weekly column in Woman magazine, book reviews, articles, and teaching. I was drained and exhausted.
My partner, Hywel Jones, quietly remarked, ‘The answer is always within.’ I had neglected the practice of daily meditation. Since that time I have persevered in season and out, whether I have felt like it or not. Reaching into the well of meditation we draw up strength and renewal. Deep down in each us is all the wisdom we can ever need, but we have to work at it! As the Scottish poet Edwin Muir wrote, ‘That was the real world. I have touched it once. And now I shall know it always within.’
Thanks for your wonderful insights. God bless.
Thank you James. Your words always encourage me and touch my heart. In gratitude and with love, Elizabeth
I acknowledge the truth of this James, thank you; I also recognise my own temptation to think myself too busy to fit in time to be quiet and still, as if ‘I’ matters more that ‘Thou’, especially when life seems busy and fulfilling. I love you comment about persevering. I’m still nodding. It does take effort and determination – and deepens my understanding of God’s Love. Far greater than my own in its constancy.
Love Diana