Pepper of the Earth

Well, apparently the Jesus People are not only alive and well, they are officially not Christ-napping (see comment on previous post).  Good to know…

You might say that people who help others out are the salt of the earth.  They are reliable, caring and ever-present in a crisis, and we need them because without salt there is no savour in life.

On the other hand (and this is not about the Jesus People, particularly) a little salt goes a long way.  And too much salt can give you high blood-pressure. * So my thought for the day is this: as well as the salt of the earth, we need people who are the pepper of the earth; people who pep you up, who give you energy and zing, and a zest for life.  These people are fun to know; they throw great parties and whisk you off to Nova Scotia at the drop of a titfer: they make you laugh; they are spontaneous and crazy.  They are the pepper of the earth.

Nowadays we have forgotten how to be spontaneous, as this poem shows:

Spontaneity

A citizen’s reply to me

when I give this a mention:

will my insurance cover me?

and what about my pension?

 

That just about sums it up.

This morning Mark and I have decided to have breakfast together, which we never normally do.  We both woke up early, around 5.30, and he said ‘Wouldn’t it be brilliant to get up at this time every day?’

‘Not really,’ I said.  ‘I’d conk out by three.’

‘Yes, but you’d conk back in again,’ he quipped.

I laughed so much I couldn’t get back to sleep….

Pepper of the earth!

Kirk out

* this metaphor really works, because if you care too much for others you can end up over-stressing yourself.