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I must have been about 11 years old, sat crossed legged on the squeaky wooden polished floor of my primary school. The sun streamed down into the hall and at the front of the assembly stood our gigantically tall headmaster, Mr Jaques.
“Today is the first day of the rest of your life” he said, looking directly at me, as if intuiting that this message was one I needed to hold on to. I do not remember the content of the assembly or the rest of the morning’s lessons but that one sentence stuck with me. Something I have repeated to myself many times in moments of realisation. Every time I have reinvented myself (which has been a few times!) I have repeated this mantra. Each time I have found myself engulfed by fire and self-destruction I remember his words. Unity has taught me that we are re-born in literally every single second. I ALWAYS have an opportunity to take a different path, to act from love, to rebirth and reinvent myself. Do I want to be the same person at 50 as I was in my twenties? Hell no. My 20-year-old self thought chicken nuggets 5 nights a week and Red Bull for breakfast was a good idea! I am grateful for learning. Grateful for being able to decide who I want to be in any given moment. Grateful even for getting old(er). What will you do today? With the first day of the rest of your life? Stefanie Bridges Unity administrator
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Don‘t think that saying "I am God"
is proclaiming one‘s greatness. It is actually total humility. Some one who says, "I am the servant of God" infers two – God and himself – whereas someone who says, "I am God", negates himself. He relinquishes his own existence. "I am God" means "I don‘t exist. Everything is God. Only God exists. I am nothing. I am utter emptiness". This is complete humility not arrogance, but people often misunderstand. When someone says he is God‘s servant, he still sees himself as a doer, albeit in God‘s service. He is not yet drowned in the Ocean of God. When he is, there will be no such thing as 'his actions', only movements of water. Jalal al-Din Rumi 13th C. Sufi Poet My name is Angus Irons and this is my story. A few years ago (but after Covid-19 started), I found a copy of the Daily word. Someone had left it on the book table, which is where residents leave books they have read and wish to share with other residents. I was feeling depressed and had been for a while, but as I started to read, it made sense; it struck a chord. A few days went by and I continued reading the Daily word. Then I noticed Unity had a Zoom meeting in the morning, so I joined the 9am Unity prayer/meditation service and I thought, ‘this is inspiring and fun.’ However, I only joined the service now and again.
Some months passed, and then I attended an online Zoom Unity course: WOW my eyes were opened. It was about the Bible. Yes, I knew of the Bible but like War and Peace, I had never read it. Then I realised that God was in me, part of me, not some old guy with a beard. That was a life changer: I was no longer a downtrodden victim, I was empowered; I was starting to deal with issues that before had crushed me. I wasn't yet moving mountains, but it was a start. Then I went on a Unity retreat and discovered the intense joy of meditation and prayer with others, and since then I join Unity every day to pray, meditate and celebrate God's love and the fellowship of fellow travellers. Since then, I have also joined a physical church near me (a shout out to Millpool Hill Church). Two friends and I (Sheila and Julie) travel there and belt out the hymns on our journey to and from, and discuss the joys and problems that arise from being a Christian. (I still have problems with forgiveness.) It’s a friendly down to earth church, and like Unity the fellowship is a joy. A lot has happened to me in the last few years, I have changed internally as well as externally. It seems that the frightened insecure child has grown into a Man who is proud to stand side by side with all humanity as I carry on to becoming more and more committed to serving God. I even got Baptised recently! But that's another story. That is my story, and it all started with a little book. As I continue to stride out with God and find adventure and excitement in my life at an age (76) when I had imagined my life would be all pipe and slippers, I am grateful for the past and the opportunities to learn; for all the riches I have today (my friends, my flat and living in one of the best cities in the world, Birmingham), and I look forward to the challenges of tomorrow. Thank you, Daily Word. So next time you come to the end of your Daily word, leave it somewhere and maybe someone will pick it up and read it. For them it will be like winning the lottery. Amen Angus Irons Unity student From Kimerie - our Sunday service this month (18th May at 3pm) includes a few others in Unity sharing how they found Unity and what blesses them in their lives. Do join us - some of their experiences may resonate with yours. Tomorrow, Tuesday 6th May, our Conversations in Unity discussion is around the subject of death and dying. But death does not just have to mean the end of our physical life. Can we also say, I die daily to who I think I am, born again to what I really am?
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