“Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes on it’s face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind”  Michel Legrand

I awoke this morning with these lyrics circling in my head; so not so surprisingly,I start thinking about all the circles that affect our lives.  We live on the third rock for the sun, revolving at 1000mph, which itself orbits a bigger rock at a rate of 67,000 mph, and our whole solar system is also rushing through space at 200km per second! 

If we think about our lives they really are made up of series of patterns we keep repeating, where we shop, where we work, who we see, and the things we do.  It is true that some of us have more variation in our patterns than others, but we all play out these routines.  Obviously they serve a valuable purpose as they save us time, and keep us safe.  However, they also keep us locked up inside a tiny space.

One of the things I love when I am walking is when either we get lost (which is just a way of saying being somewhere you hadn’t intended to be and are not familiar with) or deliberately take an unknown path.  These little forays always open up new vistas and unlock all sorts of new possibilities, and also complete and fill out my mental map.

The Delai Lama recognised the value of Change in out lives in his Tips for Life.  I would suggest is that we recognise the importance of introducing a little space into our lives, by allowing in something new, something we don’t already control. These little cosmic ‘wild cards’ are the very seeds of Change.  Can I challenge you today to do something different, to break a habit, even if it is only as tiny as to wear your watch on the other wrist?

“Round, like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel.
Never ending or beginning,
On an ever spinning wheel
Like a snowball down a mountain
Or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that’s turning
Running rings around the moon”