Thank you for taking the time to stop by, and welcome to what I hope will be a safe and authentic place, to explore life, faith, and doubt, in a way that is relatable and non-judge-mental.
I describe myself as, “someone who is seeking the truth whilst being kind to myself and others,” and so let me tell you the story behind the story…..
I grew up in a middle-class family, and I am third eldest and the only boy with three sisters. My dad was a wireless operator in the foreign office sending Morse code messages around the world, which meant we lived abroad for most of my childhood until being sent to boarding school at the age of eight. We were not a religious family, we didn’t attend church and yet as far back as I can remember, I’ve always believed that there must be something more out there and have always been fascinated by nature and why we are here.
My dad came out of the foreign office, and at the age of thirteen, I was sent to a local comprehensive school, which as you can imagine, was a pretty big culture shock for me and the people around me. I was of course teased because of my well-spoken English accent and values, but because I was pretty good at sport and less capable at anything academic, I was soon accepted among my peers, and as far as I was concerned, school was for making friends and learning about life through the conversations that we had at the bike shed in break times.
I left school and college at seventeen without any qualifications and started a four-year apprenticeship as a blacksmith and farrier. My boss wasn’t the best, he never took a holiday, which meant we were reluctant to ask for one, and in four years, other than bank holidays, I had two weeks holiday, which I made up for by travelling Europe for seven months once I’d qualified.
So where is all this leading to you, you might ask.
Travelling around Europe was certainly life changing, it made me realise that I wanted to do something more worthwhile with my life rather than go down the pub every night which I had previously done. Going from boarding school into a comprehensive school taught me how to relate to people who were different to me. Leaving school without any qualifications and still lead a fulfilled life in jobs that I have enjoyed, has made me question the education system as a foundation for life.
As soon as I got back from my travels, I set up in business as a farrier (shoeing horses) and also began working as a part time youth worker at a school-based youth club in Northampton, where I had more in-depth conversations about life and faith. During this period, I had a heart felt spiritual encounter, which backed up an experience of the sense humour of the divine, that I’d had whilst travelling around Europe.
This encounter was profound enough for me to want to know more and therefore attend church and also eventually led me to full time youth work in various church based and so-called secular settings. Is there such a thing as secular, I ask myself?
Here I am now, I’ve returned to working with horses, whilst still seeking the truth, but now I’m outside of any formal or institutional structures. I am drawn deeply towards that unconditional love, compassion, and mystery of the Divine, and our purpose within that. I want to discover more of what is true, and I want to walk with others through this continual search for wholeness. Come along with me if you like, let’s learn together about what it means to be a truly alive, compassionate, and caring human being.
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