Jim Cogley’s Reflections: Tues 10 March – Mon 16 March 2026
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Tues 10th March – Peace
Almost everyone can find some excuse for not being at peace, some worry or trouble, a problem or fear, someone or something that’s a bother to us. Really the list is endless. If I am concerned about something or someone and I can help the situation in some way, then I have an obligation to do whatever is within my power. After that I can only acknowledge my powerlessness and hand the situation over to the Lord and let it go. If I have released it, then I simply trust and if I am still holding on, I experience worry. So, the phrase I continually remind myself of in relation to anything that I have handed over is, ‘It’s no longer any of my business’. If it’s God’s business, then it’s not mine so I have to learn to butt out. A simple method of doing just that I would like to share.
Wed 11th March – Let it Go
I invite you to perhaps close your eyes and use your imagination for a few moments and think of yourself as blowing up a big balloon. Be aware of whatever is the most pressing need or concern of your life right now, your greatest intention, what it is that could so easily lead you down the cul-de-sac of worry? For so many it may be concern for a loved one or a health issue. With your breath just blow all those intentions into the balloon. Now take a string and tie a knot and see the balloon float away with all your worries inside. Next, and this is the crucial bit, release the string and allow the balloon to float upwards and say to yourself that this is no longer any of my business.
Thurs 12th March – A Deeper Surrender
Any situation or problem that we have let go of will undoubtedly come back to annoy us, so how can we deal with this? I may have handed it over, but my ego is still strong enough to take it back and want to resume control. Here it’s useful not just to surrender something but to also let go of my tendency to take it back and simply trust that it will be held. In the meantime, focus only of a positive answer. It’s now part of the divine plan that unfolds only according to the laws of love. Let yourself become detached from the outcome as to how and when your prayer will be answered. That place of holy indifference is also the very best place for the Lord to surprise us with his answers. Also, remember that the Lord is the everlasting rock and he will keep in his perfect peace those whose minds are stayed on him.
Fri 13th March – Our thorn in the Side
So often there is some individual in our lives who has an annoying habit of getting under our skin. There’s something about him or her that just gets to us. Generally, what gets to us is already within us, but we don’t yet recognize it as ours. This is called projection. The problem appears to be out there while it is really within. The unpalatable truth is that if I see it, I have got it, and it’s not about the other needing to change but more about me recognizing this as part of my shadow that I need to recognize and befriend. Until I see it for myself, I will hold the higher moral ground in judgement on the other. When I do, I no longer stand above but under, and my understanding gives way to compassion and tolerance. This does not mean that the other is free of faults but now it’s theirs to deal with and no longer able to press my buttons.
Sat 14th March – When things go wrong?
Why is it that there are times in life when nothing seems to go right for us? The road we travel seems all uphill. Funds are low and debts are high and all we do is want to cry. Nothing seem to be working out as it should, in spite of our best efforts. We are trying to lead a good life and doing our best for everyone, yet what we term ‘bad luck’ seems to dog our footsteps. We so seem to be a victim of unconscious outside forces that even if we tried to keep ducks they would probably drown! When this happens it is all too easy to play the victim game and blame everything and everyone but fail to see where the problem is in us and that we are the architects of our own misfortune. No doubt this is not easy to hear, and we hear ourselves rebelling and saying this is simply not true or just not fair. After all, I am not doing anything to deserve this so how can I be responsible? We might even add, ‘Don’t give me any of this psychological or spiritual bull…
Sun 15th March
Not always what we See
But how we See!
Cure of Blind Man
The Gospel of today is about Jesus curing the man who was blind from birth. There are many forms of blindness with some of the worst affecting those with perfect eyesight. Once I was driving on a long narrow stretch of road where you could see for miles. Then I came to a line of slow-moving traffic and way ahead I could see a car just chucking along. Every driver handled the situation somewhat differently, some were hesitant while others would do it faster than others. Usually they would drive up close, wait for a break in oncoming traffic and then hope for the best. After what seemed ages, I got my turn and on what should have been a 100km stretch he was doing about 55 completely blind to the inconvenience caused but also to the danger he was creating for others. I suspected as I passed, giving a glare of annoyance as I did so, that the same individual was taking great pride in being such a careful driver and not being like those other speed merchants who cause fatalities on our roads. To be honest I was delighted to see a police car come up behind with lights flashing to pull him over. At least something caught his attention. There’s nothing like blue lights to make cowards of us all, even the most careful drivers!
It’s so easy to hum along in the fast lane of our lives completely oblivious to the needs of others. The way we drive is just an example. We also see this constantly in parking where even when space is limited people abandon cars in a mindless manner leaving nearly enough space for another but not quite and thereby selfishly taking up two spaces. If our driving habits are a metaphor for our lives then the blindness of insensitivity and unawareness is endemic.
The name Helen Keller is one that will be familiar to a lot of people. She was an American girl who at two years of age lost both her sight and hearing. With the help of a nurse, the one and only person who believed in her, she learned Braille and overcame her handicaps to the extent of earning a doctorate degree. She became so famous that successive presidents invited her as a guest to the White House. Once she was asked is there anything worse than losing your sight. She replied, ‘Yes, not having vision or a sense of purpose for your life.’
It’s a form of blindness to judge another on behaviour when we don’t know their story. As a society we are dreadful for this. We look at behaviour and immediately judge the person. We don’t make any effort to understand why that person acted in the way they did. We forget that all behaviour is a form of communication. Not so long ago when someone died by their own hand the manner of their death was all that was noticed and the real person who may have led an exemplary life until they hit the wall was forgotten.
A man can be blind to the pressure his wife is under and yet not lift a finger to help her since he doesn’t consider it to be his job. This may be part cultural, but it is also a blatant lack of consideration.
A wife can be completely blind to the pressure her husband is under at work and not take into consideration why he is so stressed or emotionally unavailable.
At a time when money is tight one party can still be spending in a manner that is totally inappropriate to the level of income. Especially if there’s an addiction involved, money to feed that will always come first
It’s possible to attend church regularly and even come to communion and still be speaking ill of people and be full of self-opinionated judgements and still be blind to the contradiction.
A couple who were under such pressure decided they would need to seriously cut back on shopping expenses. On a visit to the supermarket together he picked up a six pack of beer and placed it in his basket. She reprimanded him and insisted he put it back saying the money was too tight. Later she picked up a jar of rather expensive face cream and he got onto her as to why she needed it.‘ In order to look better for you my darling’ she replied.’ And with a twinkle in his eye he said, ‘And why do you think I was getting the beer?’
Mon 16th March – The Louder Knocks
Just because we choose to deny something doesn’t make it go away or that it’s not there. Very often, the Lord has to knock really loudly in order for us to hear some fundamental truth about ourselves that we have spent years or a lifetime resisting and denying. If we have the courage to reflect on how often we admit to being wrong and how we react to feedback and even criticism this will give us some vital clues as to just how resistant to truth we might be. Do I say, ‘Thank you very much, I find that difficult but appreciate what you say’, or do I immediately become defensive and snap the nose off the one who is the truth speaker? Do I turn the tables and make them feel in the wrong? Do I get emotional and turn on the tears? Do I send them away with a sense of having been heard or with a sense of ‘I have wasted my time; he or she can’t be told?’ For those who know us best this will always have been obvious but until we are ready to hear our unpalatable truth no one can tell us and so we just continue to suffer until pain eventually breaks through our wall of ego defence and exposes our deepest layer of vulnerability – for many this journey to freedom and prosperity is a long and difficult road.