The most boring spectator sports in the world

      Some years ago, no doubt as an act of revenge for the Boston Tea Party, UK’s then prime minister David Cameron threatened to teach Barack Obama to play cricket during a visit to the States. As far as I know, the former POTUS didn’t take up the offer, for which Americans should be eternally grateful!
       Boring enough when you can actually SEE it, this strange public school ritual is regularly brought to an agonisingly mind-numbing low by BBC Radio 4 every summer - for weeks without end. I would describe cricket as being utterly pointless but for the fact that it seems to have more points than any other sport, awarded for no obvious reason and with a total lack of logic.
     Which set me musing on further boring spectator sports:
(1) Top of the list has already been mentioned, i.e. cricket in which the main excitement is two men walking from one set of sticks to another set of sticks, holding a large piece of willow used to bat a ball into oblivion or into the hands of a mid-off or whatever to deafening roars of approval from the crowd. And it doesn't even bounce! Bowl a maiden over? Not this one!
(2) Golf. At least in cricket you get to see somebody running occasionally -and I must admit the players look very fetching in their matching white outfits and shin pads. But tartan trews and little woolly jumpers? Sorry, in the fashion stakes, golfers just don't hack it - unless they end up in the bunker, which is fun!
(3) Hockey. Now I must declare an interest here. At high school, me and my jolly old hockey stick were assigned to one end of a very cold, very muddy field while the rest of the team bashed everyone else's legs to bits at the other end. Being in defence, I can't remember seeing the ball more than a couple of times in all my years at school, and even then I'd have to battle with my own team's goalie for possession - the only exercise we got and probably the only time the opposing team were in with a chance!
(4) Snooker. Not only do the players not run, they hardly move at all unless it's to lean over the table to hit a little white ball. The most exciting it gets is when the players sip their beer or whisky or whatever and one can at least start wondering how long they'll stay upright....which probably explains why they're always leaning over!
(5) Bowling. No, not the kind you do in bowling alleys, but the genteel kind which is normally played on a velvet smooth bowling green. Again, competitors don't seem to move very much (if at all) but then most of them do have the excuse of being well over 80. Teenagers at our local green have tried to sabotage the game by hammering broken bottles into the grass, but nothing stops the intrepid team from pursuing their favourite sport. What that generation lacks in speed is more than compensated by sheer endurance!
(6) Darts. No excuse here, as anyone over 18 (the legal UK limit for drinking) can join in what is perhaps the only sport where spectators actually look healthier than the players! The beauty of this activity is, like bowling and snooker, you can be a champion without ever having to don a tracksuit, go running at dawn or cut out the carbs and the extra pint. A couple of sit-ups once a week and a good pair of spectacles are all it takes to be a world-class darts master. It must surely rank alongside snail racing for its sheer exhilarating thrill factor!
(7) Curling. This was a new one on me until the 2008 Olympics (or was it the one before that?) when the Scottish team actually won a Gold! Very pleased about that, the only downside being that I felt compelled to watch them as they swept their way to victory - reminding me that I hadn't done the vacuuming that day. Definitely toe-curling!

Strive, Strive, Never Arrive!

       In our materialistic age, it’s hardly surprising that one of the best-known verses in the Bible is about money.

        What IS surprising is that “Money” is NOT, as has so often been misquoted, “the root of all evil.” On the contrary, without money no one in today’s world would be able to function. (2 Tim 6:9,10)

        No, the real problem is the “LOVE of money,” a love which, the verse goes on to explain, causes some to “stab themselves all over with many pains.” In contrast, the secret of a happy life is learning to be content, to want what you have – but try telling that to a wannabe 1 percenter!

        Those determined to be rich will never be satisfied, no matter how much money they acquire. And it’s not just the luxury lifestyle they crave. For many, it’s the thrill of the chase, the next big deal, the gamble that pays off, the battle for supremacy, the one-upmanship. The power.

       Obsessed with power, a well-known magnate built a temple on one of the islands he owned, or so the story goes. Here, he would spend hours communing with dubious deities, invoking their powers to make him stronger, cleverer and more powerful than his rivals. His family life was a mess, his first wife committed suicide, his second wife divorced him, his children died tragically, he couldn’t eat properly and his health was abysmal. His only ‘joy’ in life, if you can call it that, was his massive fortune and in knowing he owned a bigger yacht than anyone else on the planet! The demons did their job!

       Not all lovers of money splash out on luxuries, of course; some rich people are extremely miserly, like the zillionaire tycoon who couldn’t spot a small coin in the gutter without stooping to pick it up! Or like Jean Paul Getty who refused to pay a ransom when his grandson was kidnapped. At least he learned from his mistakes; two years before he died, he said: “Money doesn’t necessarily have any connection with happiness. Maybe with unhappiness.” 

         Then there was Henrietta Howland Green. At her death in 1916, this American woman was worth approximately $95,000,000. Yet, rather than pay for urgent medical treatment for her son, she wasted valuable time searching for a free clinic, a delay which undoubtedly cost the boy his leg. Henrietta was just as mean with her own wellbeing, virtually living on cold oatmeal (she felt heating it up was a waste of money!), and eventually dying of apoplexy after a heated argument over skimmed milk - possibly the nearest she ever came to any human warmth!

       In itself, money doesn’t make you mercenary. There are poor people who love money so much they’d kill for it and wealthy people who, viewing their fortune merely as a mere by-product of sheer hard work and talent, are glad to share it with others.

       Such people have no doubt come to realise what really matters. That, rich or poor, there’s more happiness in giving than receiving. And, that being content with what we have – family, friends, food on the table – is worth more than all the money in the world!

See also https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/g201509/

Mindfulness or mindlessness?

       An app that can calm children, soothe them to sleep and help them concentrate? Most parents I know would give their eye-teeth for such help. So why does this ‘Mindfulness’ app, along with the trend that inspired it, worry me so much?

       For me, the problem is that mindfulness techniques are based on meditation, a form of self-hypnosis currently embraced and wholeheartedly promoted by several high profile figures and mooted as a wonderful new route to mental health. Now there are special apps for children, including one for under-5s!

       “No harm in that,” some say. But there are various types of meditation, some of which are not beneficial and may even be downright dangerous. With this in view, let’s be mindful of what meditation actually is and which forms should be avoided at all costs.

What is meditation?

       Meditation is more than mere daydreaming. It involves deep, concentrated thinking by which we can review the past, ponder the present and consider the future – not just our own but that of others and the world in general. Successful meditation requires complete solitude with no distractions – no mobile devices or online games to interrupt the process.

       True meditation should be purposeful and focused, even resulting in amazing Eureka moments from celebrated thinkers such as the late Stephen Hawking must have enjoyed while contemplating the universe!

Good meditation

       To get the best from this practice, we need to look to the best possible examples, such as wise and spiritually-minded people mentioned in scripture. In fact, the Bible encourages meditation - not the sort that involves emptying the mind or muttering mindless mantras and empty repetition, but meditation that helps us dwell on wholesome and upbuilding topics, such as God’s qualities, standards and dealings with mankind.

       King David, for instance, often lay awake ‘in the watches of the night’ meditating on deep spiritual matters which provided him with inner depth and moral strength. (Psalm 63:6, Psalm 1:3) 

Harmful meditation

       Many forms of meditation have roots in ancient Eastern religions. In contrast to musing on profound scientific or spiritual truths, however, “The mind has to be empty to see clearly,” according to one exponent. These words reflect the view that emptying the mind while focusing (mindlessly) on certain words or images promotes inner peace, mental clarity and enlightenment.

       Another source describes a typical meditation as focusing fully attention on one’s breath as it flows in and out of the body. “Focusing on each breath in this way allows you to observe your thoughts as they arise in your mind and, little by little, to let go of struggling with them.”

       Although it may seem harmless, this technique which encourages you to let go and ‘empty the mind’ is not only employed by yoga practitioners but also by spiritualist mediums as they seek to contact their guides in the spirit world.  And you don’t need to be a practicing psychic to invoke the demons! Even though we may initially feel some benefit, emptying our mind leaves us open to some very nasty squatters! (Matthew 12:43-45)

       And it seems I’m not alone in worrying about this form of meditation:

       Dr Miguel Farias, a reader in cognitive and biological psychology and co-author of The Buddha Pill, is very concerned about the effects of what he describes as an entirely unregulated’ practice.  “Quite a lot of mindfulness teachers have no training whatsoever in mental health.” He also doubts the value of mindfulness apps.

       “They work like relaxation apps. Focusing on your breathing can usually make you relaxed – but for some it can also bring on a panic attack.’ There is a wealth of evidence to show that mindful exercises can have negative effects. While some people, find mindfulness unhelpful and dispiriting, for a significant number of others – and for reasons not yet completely understood – it can lead to anxiety, panic or even psychosis. – Can mindfulness be bad for you? Anne Moore, YOU magazine. https://www.you.co.uk/can-mindfulness-bad-one-writer-investigates/

        Claire initially found mindfulness relaxing, “but then I felt completely zoned out while doing it. Within two or three hours of later sessions, I was starting to really, really panic.” The sessions resurfaced memories of her traumatic childhood, and she experienced a series of panic attacks. “Somehow, the course triggered things I had previously got over,” Claire says. “I had a breakdown and spent three months in a psychiatric unit. It was a depressive breakdown with psychotic elements related to the trauma, and several dissociative episodes.” – Is Mindfulness making us ill?  Dawn Foster, The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jan/23/is-mindfulness-making-us-ill