NICKY TEMPLE | Spiritual Director
Ponderings
Farewell Swallows of Summertime
The swifts and swallows swoop and dive above my head, so close I hear their wings and distinguish their colours. They’re preparing to leave these shores to make perilous flights thousands of miles away and my heart is heavy. The sadness I feel that they have to go,...
Will you hold the earth with me?
I’m cradled in the brilliance of a billion stars emanating their dazzling radiance transfixed by her beauty, halted in world’s wonder. I reach out and trail my hand across her cool, depthless depths. I brush across ancient forests knowing for the briefest of moments...
What do I need?
The greatest gift I have to offer the world is my transformed selfIts been a busy time - my Spiritual Direction practice continues to grow and there have been retreats to prepare for and host. And then there’s the usual stuff of life that needs to be seen to. There...
Mary arrives at the empty tomb: a reflection
Mary, I have come to love that name. It is my name and it is her name - the apostle to the apostlesJesus Appears to Mary Magdalene John 20:11 - 18 Mary stood crying outside the tomb. While she was still crying, she bent over and looked in the tomb and saw two angels...
Ploughing the fields: allowing death and life
These ploughed, brown fields seem to be a mirror to my own soul. Perhaps part of me feels ploughed, dug into and turned over.I’ve noticed the fields lately. They seem bigger than usual, wide open and brown. The farmer’s have been busy ploughing, tending and preparing...
True to the call
I couldn’t let the death of Queen Elizabeth to pass without writing something in response. Yesterday (the funeral day) was incredibly moving and marked the pinnacle of the last 10 days of UK (and beyond) history in which people paid deep respect, honour and gratitude...
When things are too small for you
anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you.I was really drawn to this line from a poem by David Whyte… “…anyone or anything that does not bring you alive is too small for you” What did it mean to me for someone or something to be too small...
Telling the stories of us
I've been thinking a lot about storytelling recently, having led a storytelling retreat and being deep into a story of my own that has spanned decades. I am realising more acutely that the stories of our lives need to be shared, that to keep them hidden is to...
An Easter anointing
Today I want to remember this woman, this beautiful Mary that offered such an immense gift born from her singular devotion to Jesus.On this Thursday before Easter, this holy, being-anointed, preparing day I reflect on the woman who entered a humble home with a jar...
When we’re broken-hearted
What if, instead of turning once again to these default mechanisms so deeply ingrained, I simply let myself move towards this heart-rending pain and let it be.It’s been a heart-breaking kind of week. The kind where your heart turns to lead and sinks to your feet...
Longing and powerlessness
Longing and powerlessness, held together in one breath, in and out, the yin and yang of lifeA rich and insightful guest blog from Mike Temple... Longing and powerlessness, held together in one breath, in and out, the yin and yang of life. I have supposed before that...
The crying tree: we are one in our suffering
I do hope to let myself careI walked past “my” tree today, placed my hands on her wet trunk and looked up. As I did, her branches dripped with wet rain. The drips fell onto my face and for a moment it seemed as if her tearful drips became my own. Yes, I know trees...