in a mirror dimly: Reflections on Easter
A good friend of mine, my youth pastor (as a youth) and now an elder at the church I’m in community at just started his own blog. A cyber-home for his very good thoughts.
inamirrordimlynm:
Good Friday is a bit of a buzz-kill. I don’t like to think about death. Most of us don’t I would guess. It’s the inevitable shadow at the end of the tunnel we would like to put off as long as possible and keep as far out of mind as possible.
The original good Friday must have been a…
10 things that inspire me.
in·spire/inˈspī(ə)r/: To fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel something, esp. to do something creative.
Inspiration is sometimes an elusive, phantom. Other times an ocean to swim in. Either way it comes, it goes, it’s here and there, but it is always needed. When I gathered this list I was in a particularly uninspired mood, floating along in the doldrums but ironically (or perhaps to be expected) the very act of putting together an ‘inspiration list’, was a uniquely inspiring process.
Here it goes…
1. Pinterest!
To start off on a light note - Pinterest is the latest place I go on a frequent basis for immediate inspiration of many kinds. From inspiration for what to make for dinner, ideas to spruce up our house cheaply, gift ideas, design ideas…I love scouring through the visual smorgasbord that pinterest creates.
2. Children being carefree.
(photo by: Adam Taylor)
Seeing children when they are in their glee, cackling at random things, playing (peacefully) is the perfect example, to me, of something that truly inspires life. It’s a reminder that not all things are wrong in the world, that imaginations do run free and joy can be found.
new old stuff
originally posted by my husband jamtaylor
We went to an auction and got this old steam trunk for $23 (USD). It’s a bit beat up, and it’s not TOO sturdy, but it’s nice. Tiff cleaned it up a bit and it’s now a coffee table.
You got to love being born on a dot on the globe…
Life in Christian-Conservative T̶e̶x̶a̶s̶ Barbados
Replace ‘Lubbock, Texas’ with ‘Barbados’ and this says it almost perfectly.
This small island-country is pretty much the Bible-Belt of the Caribbean. And if life in Lubbock Texas seems contradictory and confusing, life here is equally as paradoxical.
Behind the facade of dread-locks, sandy beaches and sunburnt tourists - the Caribbean is a strange blend of extremely conservative Christian culture and fairly liberal behavior.
Barbados
I think you hit the nail spot on about the mix of developed and undeveloped in Barbados. It’s actually one of the things I like the most about it here. And yes, unlike most places the ‘nice’ areas and ‘less nice’ areas here are really quite interspersed. I can’t think of any ‘nice’ area where you can’t walk 5 minutes and end up in ‘village’. Which is good I think.
I’m going to totally play into the stereotype of Bajaness and say, I haven’t been to the Beach in ages. At least 3 months - not as bad as a year! But I can swim. It’s true that most Bajans can’t swim, alot are even afraid of the idea of swimming. I wonder what the History behind that is. There’s the Caribbean folklore that if you go swimming on Good Friday that you’ll turn into a Fish.. or drown. But I doubt that excuses the other 364 days.
Q:Hey I just thought I'd send another reply here since I blogged the first one - can you recommend some places to visit? Someone recommended North Point so I'm going to head up there this weekend.
Yeah I just saw your post.
North Point is rugged and beautiful. Enjoy!
by Seth Teeters
As far as what else to do it really depends what sort of thing your looking for.
We love the east coast generally.
A walk down Cattlewash/Bathsheba beach is the definition of natural relaxation to me. It’s not the tourist version of Barbados, it’s all rock pools and surf spots, but it’s got a certain appeal. One of the rock pools is called the ‘Barbados Pool’ because it’s shaped somewhat like Barbados…I guess. Rumour has it back in the 70s or so people took some dynamite to the reef and blew it out so they’d have a bigger pool to swim in..so I’ve been told anyway.
by Seth Teeters
This rock is well known by the creative name, “round rock”. At some point long before I was around some skilled person put a bench on top the rock (at one point someone also put a Bus Stop sign). So it’s a common thing to climb to the top and take in the view. I’m terrified of heights but some friends convinced me to do it a couple years ago and it was totally worth it. It’s really not a big deal…I’m just a wuss.. kid’s do it.
If your into nature Grenade Hall/Forest trail is nice, with a high probability of coming face to face with some monkeys. My husband took this pic when we went a couple summer’s ago with a friend 
We had to wait for him to decide to get off the path.
I think they have a $15Bds entry fee or something though, which includes the trail and going up into the signal Station. In the 1800s after a slave revolt they set up 5 Signal stations across the island so they could let the military know quickly as soon there were any more attempts.
Not sure what else to suggest sight-seeing wise. Things like Harrison’s Cave are pricey and exist elsewhere, even though it’s enjoyable.
If you’re into history visiting some of the old plantation houses is feasible as well, although again, an entrance fee is involved. There’s also the museum.
St. Nicholas Abbey built in 1648
And yeah - I’m out of ideas. As a Barbadian I constantly feel like everything there is to do here costs money. Which I suppose is true of most places, but for paradise it sometimes gets a little boring unless you find events to go to or know people that make simple things exciting.
Let me know if you end up going to North point and how you enjoy it (or not, depending).
You can also check out this site, Uncommon Caribbean, under Barbados where they explore the island in a less ‘hotels and tourists’ kind of way.
Bajan Bloggers
Anyone that cares, can probably tell that I’ve been far too busy to blog for the past few weeks (month?). Work has had me running a marathon at a sprint’s pace, which means the last thing I have the mental energy for when I do finish work is to actually think. Which means no blog.
However, things should be slowing down soon, so maybe my brain will return and with it a few posts.
In the mean time, back in September, a fellow Barbadian, QC graduate and blogger did a feature of Bajan Bloggers on her own blog (how many ‘blogs’ can you fit into one sentence, Tiff?)
Check out Malou’s blog here as well as all the other bloggers who at the end of a hard day’s work can at least relish in the fact that they call Barbados home.
