Faith Initiative is an interfaith magazine published by Initiative Interfaith Trust

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Strings Attached

All these mornings, you'd think I'd go straight
for the beads, but no, missed alarms, wrong shirts

lost keys, snatched kisses, "go safes", network news,
jiving dogs and then the post jostles in, till

I've run out of time to save any time
or contemplate peace without or within

so the Buddha is left with the breakfast crumbs
- I'll get to compassion later, OK?

Right. Put museli away cream face, replace rings
what's this? A pause for my fingers to braid,

fill the place where my prayer beads could be
if I sprint for the chance to save my day.

On my mat, with the string of my sandle wood
worlds holding my hands, I recall each one's

a singe of desire or a flare of insight
like the alternative futures within my grasp:

and forgetting to choose is still a choice,
in a time that is endlessly finite.

I rattle the beads and release their scent,
the spheres resettle, and I too am changed.

Initiative Interfaith Trust

Registered Charity Nº 1113345

Trustees

Heather Wells, Lorna Douglas, Jonathan Lockart

Object

The promotion of religious harmony by: providing educational resources and information to promote a better awareness of the causes and consequences of inter-religious tensions and conflicts; and educating the public in the diverse nature of religious belief.

Editorial Team

Editor: Heather Wells
Deputy Editor & Design Consultant: Lorna Douglas
Editorial Assistant: Joy Hodder; Onn Keet Peng, Charanjit Ajit Singh, Sr. Maureen Goodman, Shiban Akbar

Aim

The aim of Faith Initiative Magazine is to open windows on the beliefs and practices of world religions, in the hope that this will foster understanding and reduce religiously motivated violence.

Statement

Whilst the contents of this website/magazine will always be in accordance with the object of Initiative Interfaith Trust there will be freedom of expression.

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the grant received from the Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund (2006/2007) and the support from private donors who wish to remain anonymous. Such funding makes publication and distribution of this magazine possible. We welcome and appreciate all donations and subscriptions.

Invitation

We invite you to contribute articles, poems, letters, illustrations and responses so that the magazine reflects the religious communities it seeks to serve. Editoririal guidance can be obtained from:
Heather Wells, PO Box 110, Lancaster LA2 6GN. Email enquiries@faithinitiative.co.uk.