I recently arranged to meet a friend for a discussion about a project. (I always have a project on the go.) We agreed to meet, and settled on a motorway service station which we could both reach quite easily. The meeting went well, and I came home full of enthusiasm.
A few days later, a letter arrived, fining me for staying too long in the service station car park. I felt immediately aggrieved: I’d had no idea that the parking time there was restricted, or that I should have paid. The fine, I felt, was unfair. Of course the fine wasn’t really unfair, it was reasonable, and it was well-advertised. I was just a muppet who made an expensive mistake. But many things do come along which are unfair. Bad things happen to good people. Every day.
This is part of the riddle of life. “Each life is a riddle” someone said to me recently. “It is up to us to solve the riddle of our own lives.” Key in doing this is to become increasingly aware of how we react to our circumstances. My initial reaction to hearing of my stupidity was instructive, and is there for me to learn from. And also – don’t park for more than two hours in a Moto service station, unless you have paid.
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Instead of banging on about how you should read "The Wheels Fell Off" I'd just like to remind you that Lent starts really soon, and that will mean a few changes to this email series for the 40 days of Lent.
You will get emails every day of the week except Sunday, and they will all be on the same theme - 'Sympathy for the Devil'.
This is a provocative and challenging theme, I know. That's why I'm writing it.
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