18/1-22/1

For my birthday last year, Christy gave me a time capsule. It's a little book, which asks me a question a day for the next five years, so that when I look back over my answers, I'll be able to see how much my answers have changed based on where I am in life when I answer that question. Yesterday's questions was 'Are you seeing security or adventure?'

And I could confidently answer: adventure.

On Monday, I went for a vegan dinner with mostly people I didn't know, and ended up laughing so much I thought I'd get another cheek dimple.

On Tuesday, I went for the Hulsean lecture, and gained new understanding on what the term 'In Christ' means. To the people who wrote the Bible (in the words we translated to become 'In Christ' in English') to be 'In Christ' is based on the idea that someone is an ancestor, who contains your identity and your source of life. Another biblical example would be Adam - 'For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.' 1 Corinthians 15:22. Adam, as ancestor of the human race, is their source of inheritance. Since we receive what Adam receives, we also do what Adam does. Therefore, since Adam sinned and received the penalty of death, we too sin 'in Adam', and 'in Adam' we die. And that makes the reversal that follows Christ's death all the more significant. Christ followed the 'in Adam' pattern - he did receive the inheritance of death, but then he set into motion a new dynamic - life.  By rising from the grave on the third day after his burial, Christ ensured that his lineage, those who believe in his name, would 'in Christ' inherit life.

And the amazing thing is, with the promise of being 'in Christ', we not only inherit life - we occupy the same space as Jesus, have the same relations he did. And when we realise that Jesus' activity is our activity, and his prayer 'Abba Father' is our prayer, we come to the conclusion that Jesus not only gave us life forevermore 'in Christ' but also the overwhelming grace of becoming children of God with the same access and intimacy with him as Christ had. I had the image of Lucy from the Narnia books running up and hugging Aslan.

On Wednesday, I tried out a new recipe for a lentil dahl which was easy and so delicious. I also picked up a mesh strainer from a student who was moving out and needed to give away her kitchen things, and used it and a tea towel to strain and make my own rice milk. After dinner I realised something was missing from my life, and realised - granola. And so I whipped up some chocolate and hazelnut granola and ate as much of it as couldn't fit into my container.

On Thursday, I had my second ballet lesson, and the choreography for 'The Dance of the Knights' got so much more interesting, although I kept forgetting to include chaine turns in one of the enchainments...next week is the last rehearsal exclusively for that dance so everything will have to be perfect then!

On Friday, I went for my first ever ceilidh (a gaelic dance party, pronounced kay-lee) I was going with Andre and Tim from Justlove, but since we all came at different times and I was surprisingly there first, I began dancing with another lady who didn't have a partner. After that first dance I was already flushed and happy, and Tim and Andre had both arrived. They bought raffle tickets, and we talked for a while before beginning on the next dance which was arranged in a big circle. The dance involved moving from one partner to the next, working your way around the circle. 

It was interesting to dance with so many different partners, because from the feel of their hands and the position of their bodies you knew who understood the dance and who, well, didn't. There were some who held you too tightly to enjoy the dance - I think they were really stressed about getting the steps right. There were others who didn't really hold you at all, and sort of just flopped their hands into yours - I think they were too afraid to really get into the dance. And then there were (the best kind) the ones who held you just tight enough to support you as you whirled around but not so tight that your fingers lost all feeling - and you knew instinctively that they were enjoying the dance just as much as you were. Sort of like how people approach life really.

I was a bit of a mess for my first two partners but soon got the hang of it, and one of my partners, when he held my hands, immediately said 'Good, you know what you're doing!' Being my first ceildh, I replied 'I really don't!' and he laughed and said 'You do!'

It was incredibly fun, and as Tim said 'transcendent' - you can't help but smile and forget anything that worries you as you dance to a Scottish reel. (Also N.B One of my partners was an Irish guy and so I heard a proper Irish accent!)