A lovely sunny afternoon allowed me the opportunity to go for a walk in Currabinny Woods which is about 5km from Carrigaline, Co.Cork. There are some beautiful walks and loops in this wood. With the colours of autumn it is particularly striking and beautiful at this time of year.

Over the next few days and into next week you will see new changes to the website. It will be ongoing for the next few days. The website was working on outdated software and it needed an upgrade and facelift to bring it up to the technology of 2022.

On This Day

On Nov 9th 1989 the opening of the Berlin Wall took place. It extended for 45km to divide the western and eastern sides of Berlin.

On Nov 9th 1960 John F Kennedy became president of the United States

On Nov 9th 2020 Pfizer announced that their Covid 19 vaccine was over 90% effective in a  trial involving nearly 44,000 people. It was the first big breakthrough in the fight against Covid

Birthdays Today

Lou Ferrigno (Famous as the actor who played the part of the Incredible Hulk) is 71

Alessandro Del Piero (Former Italian footballer) is 48

Daphne Guinness (Artist and fashion designer) is 55

Today would also have been the late Caroline Flacks Birthday (TV Show host)

Saint For Today

Saint Martin of Tours and he is the Patron Saint of the poor, soldiers, tailors, and winemakers

Significance of Today

Today Nov 9th is World Freedom Day:

In many parts of the world, freedom is something that is taken for granted—the freedom to choose any religion we want (or no religion at all), the freedom to be in a relationship with the person we love, the freedom to travel – the list goes on. Unfortunately, there are many, many places in the world where these freedoms are not available to most people. World Freedom celebrates the freedoms we all should be enjoying

Interesting Quote For Today

“When I was a boy in the 1930s, the carbon dioxide level was still below 300 parts per million. This year, it reached 382, the highest figure for hundreds of thousands of years.” ~ David Attenborough

Did You Know

Did you know trees and forests are known as ‘carbon sinks’, because they store carbon dioxide as they grow. When humans cut down rainforests or they are destroyed by wildfires, large amounts of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere. This contributes to the greenhouse effect and increases the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, contributing further to global warming.

Thought For The Week

‘When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.’ ~Author Unknown

 
C.S Lewis was a famous writer who wrote over thirty books in his lifetime. The most famous of his books is ‘The Chronicles of Naria’. His books have been translated into more than thirty languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. His Christian faith really influenced his work and his writings. His wife’s name was Joy and she died from cancer at the very young age of forty five. It was a massive blow for C.S Lewis. In one of his books, ‘A Grief Observed’, he said: “The death of a beloved is an amputation.” You can feel the massive loss his wife Joy was to him. He had lost his soulmate.
Whether recently or going back the years we still miss our loved ones deeply. Yes we remember them at different times of the year and if we are honest they are always in our thoughts. But at the start of November we create our own sacred spaces and we remember in love our loved ones who have died.
Many people will visit a cemetery during this month of November. It is not an empty or meaningless task. It’s always good to remember those who have died. Our belief is that death is not an end but a beginning for the soul or spirit of the person who has died. Our belief is that our loved ones who have died are still near us but not physically with us. They now live in eternal light and love.
Trying to put this into words is never easy and all we can humbly do is to try. It is also a time of year to be kind and gentle to yourself too. Like C.S Lewis felt in losing his wife Joy, the loss of a loved one is hugely significant. It is lots of small steps as we try and adjust our lives around our loss. This can take a long time. It is so important that we are kind and gentle to ourselves and to other members of our family who are grieving. November may be a dreary month but it can also be a gentle month of healing especially as we remember those who have died.
The old Irish prayer seems most appropriate at this time: “Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, May perpetual light shine upon them and may they rest in peace.” Amen

The Thought For The Week is updated each Monday