September 6th
Sunday 3.50pm. My last message blog saw me take a different direction at the last minute, and as I look back to that moment I believe yet again this was A ROAD TO DAMASCUS MOMENT. This is a famous reference to Saul who was a Pharisee travelling to Damascus, when there was a flash of light which told him, “Why are you persecuting the followers of Jesus? This changed his direction in life. In my previous blog, where I spoke of three stories where the direction in my life was changed by I believe an higher spiritual force. I mentioned in one story of a lady visiting me at my large painting in the Shopping Mall in Banska Bystrica, a lady I’d only met six months earlier for ten minutes as she viewed my painting. Quickly repeating her story she explained and didn’t understand why she had a powerful message to bring me and she had to write on two A4 papers messages pertaining about me and the lady I was close to, who was about to go into hospital. Again, on that day the lady, I didn’t really know said, she felt truly baffled having never had this experience before. Without going through the story again, she said Jesus was with me. I thought this is an extraordinary message, because no one but me knew I was that morning thinking of returning to England. Having told the lady this, she then seemed more at ease saying, that’s why I was told to come to tell you not to return to England.
She also said, the lady I knew would be alright with her health and that too was a relief to hear. Two of the others stories I told, one with my young daughter, and the other when I was thinking of returning home in 2011 from Banska Bystrica as we had no where to take the painting in doors in early October of 2011. Each story was a powerful moment that changed my life and direction. The story to North America defied all logic and no scientist could have explained what occurred with synchronicity and so many unexplainable situations. My book followed called “ MY JOURNEY WITH JOSEPH.”
So what’s made write this thinking now? While I was talking to my friend Elena on viber this last Friday? I noticed she had a beautiful vase of roses in her home, but something really touched me with the colours, the leaves, the roses and the rose buds. I had to explain to Elena for five years I studied the art of painting roses, as I was then a freelance pottery designer. I thought my interest on Friday was through this situation. Later when I walked through my local park and head to the town centre, I could not remove this image of roses from my mind. I then saw and felt as I walked along the path, the image of Jesus peering at me through these roses, and he was suggesting to me to paint such a scene. Again, I’m now thinking is my direction being changed again, but I must paint this scene and see what happens next.
With everyone you can tell a similar story where one day or night you meet someone unexpectedly then find yourself in love. Or you have a job offered and at the last minute you finish up not getting the job and your spirit drops. Then later, something else turns up, and it proves to be a better career move. Each time your direction has changed. Two of my son in laws had been looking and going for interviews for a couple of years, and I always told them not to worry there is a better door you are meant to go through at the right time and place. One of my son in laws starts a new career on Tuesday and it’s more than just a good move. My other son in law moved six months ago after many disappointments, but now where he is at his career is flourishing and moving up with other opportunities on the way. What am I saying? Don’t be despondent if you hit a brick wall with finding a job, and that applies with love too where a relationship was not right or where you presently unbeknown to you your direction is about to change at the right time and place. Again it’s my belief so many parts of your life may be mapped out, but don’t accept your present status quo as at the right time YOU WILL TAKE A NEW DIRECTION.
This now leads me back again to where I’m always given to talk of change which means a new direction. I just happened to see on the news in the U.K. the other day our Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and he was his normal self expounding his view on the benefits of building a fast rail link from Birmingham to London, then to Manchester and Leeds. The cost of this rail link is staggering and could go over 100 billion pounds and more, to complete this massive project called the HS 2 line. This is not just my opinion of being barmy and mad, but as we are seeing a move from commuters working in city centres and cutting their long travelling time, many now are having a preference to work from home. Many companies now approve this. Boris says this fast rail link will create 22 thousand new jobs, but at what cost? The figures suggest, there will be the same amount of jobs lost in the areas this rail link decimates. So many say, why not improve the rail links up North and help companies expand their firms into new global areas as we are pulling out of the restrictive practices of the EU? With 100 billion pounds, how many affordable homes could our government build without developers exploiting their chance to build just for their profit margins? Again, I’m riding with my mantra that with experience of being in property and doing self builds before, I know for one 100 thousand pounds you can construct a good home, built on sites where the government and local authorities would not be fleeced by high prices for the land. Do you know how many 100 thousand pounds are in a billion then multiply by a hundred. Thousands of homes could be built over the next five years which would kick start the economy.
The government say they will put two billion pounds into a training scheme for apprentices, where presently they have no great vision or direction to create more jobs. There will not be enough jobs for such apprentices as we have seen such training schemes go no where before. We need seven new powerhouse centres for building new infrastructure and new industries to face a new future. These seven chosen areas would be Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham, and Newcastle, all incorporating the out lying industrial areas. Add to this if we want to keep the Union with Wales and Scotland they too would have a big centre with a strategic plan on making our future more secure to afford the younger generations to pay off the debts we have needlessly accrued. With this interview on TV asking Boris about the HS.2 rail folly, they asked him of the ex- Premier Tony Abbott of Australia being appointed to be Trade Advisor to our government. His answer as usual was waffle and bluster, because he knows the adverse reaction he’s had from so many of his back bench M.P.s towards this awful appointment. One Conservative lady M.P. was so scathing branding Tony Abbott as offensive towards women, and being homophobic, misogynist and a stream of other obnoxious character streaks. This lady Conservative said, she had to agree with Emily Thornberry the most outspoken opposition lady shadow minister who can never stop talking of her radical views.
For me when I heard the name of Tony Abbott I was staggered, you would invite anyone of his character into any advisory roll. Why? Because I remember when he was Prime Minister between 2013 and 2015 he introduced a No Tolerance scheme for boat people escaping Vietnam and other surrounding countries to Australia. He has no empathy whatsoever for any people, and the stories that followed in turning people back to the island of New Guinea was barbaric and beyond belief. Even one leading Australian politician said when hearing this news of Tony Abbott being a trade advisor to England was bizzare and amusing as he is vilified in Australia for running their car industry down. If ever we as a country are going to use new building blocks to create a new future for the U.K. this man should not even be put into the concrete footings of a new foundation.
Today again, newspapers are saying Boris’s chancellor Rishi Sunak is waiting in the wings for Boris to fall as Boris is again showing he is not competent to be a leader when the future is to bring great uncertainties. I mentioned loosely in my previous message blog about thousands finding themselves in horrendous situations when some businesses are refusing cash. In such times, when all businesses need purchases of any kind, how crazy is this? They believe wrongly from a bank note or coin you could catch the virus. A Texas University has made a test showing there more bacteria on a bank card. We have no leadership. It say’s soon in the U.K. there will be twice the amount of under twenty fives on benefits. In Germany they too have fears of mass unemployment that could bring about civil unrest. History has already shown this before, but this young generation are more educated and know far more about the world we live in. Accepting the status quo will not be observed when in the 1930s people accepted ten years of poverty and no work. Germany didn’t, and now Angela Merkel has just passed a bill where people will be furlonged until the end of 2021, starting on 60 percent of their previous wage and being unemployed for six months, it will go up to 80 percent of their income. It will come at a cost of over 36 billion euros. Today, they have enforced a law finding anyone 50 euros if you are not wearing a mask in places where you are told to do. I believe if you are giving money out something should be returned like work. It’s not hard to create jobs if you have a visionary plan and strategy. We are seeing in most countries the increase of the virus, but not a big increase in deaths, knowledge of this virus is still very vague. In the U.K., there is a notable difference as more young people are falling victom for this virus infection as Universities should be having thorough tests and trace centres at every theatre of learning. Their student unions say, there is more likely hood of young people travelling and mixing more frequently with other students that could start another big rise again with this none retreating virus.
We once had a fear campaign in the U.K. launched by the former Chancellor George Osborne for his Prime Minister David Cameron, putting fear into everyone if we left Europe. Well, President Trump is advancing the same fear tactic on the general public in the U.S.A. for the forthcoming election in November. Deadly clashes between demonstrators on the streets of two US cities have triggered a war of words between himself and Joe Biden putting law and order at the front of his campaign. President Trump is fanning flames of hate. President Trump seems to show himself as the law and order President. It will not work if fear alone is all you have to vote for. It’s now about DIRECTION which I stated within my message blog. We can all be asking this question soon if a vaccine is not found. Even then fear is still with many and rightly so as decisions are made, where you shop and where you meet is something you still have to think about. With myself, I do not feel comfortable to start the gym soon, where people are close to one another and puffing and breathing heavy, while pushing and lifting weights. Such thinking is not fear but common sense. We can all listen at times to that inner voice, but the human spirit cannot sit quiet long and will accept hope and belief that there is a silver lining behind each dark cloud. BETTER DAYS WILL FOLLOW AS WILL MANY CHANGES TO OUR LIVES. But great changes can only emerge with new thinking, and with each of us we must have belief in ourselves, as our children and grandchildren must have a belief, they too will have a good future.