It has been a long long time since I last wrote a blog on here.
There has been a few reasons I haven't written anything. One of the main reasons is that I haven't had a lot to use as content. I started this blog months ago as a way of venting my feelings online, and while I was in Stoke I had a lot to vent.
As I've been back in Cheltenham I have been living a relatively easy life. I haven't had anything to complain about for this reason.
For one reason or another I haven't really listened to any new music, nor had the opportunity to go to any gigs to review.
The one gig I have been to this summer that really has stuck in my mind was when I saw Another Breath in Stoke. The show was a really good advertisement for the current hardcore scene.
The support bands really stepped up to the plate and threatened to steal the show. Unrestrained were a small band from America who blew my mind. Between songs the singer talked about how music has effected his life, and he really connected with the audience.
Another Breath played a fantastic set, drawing from material from their most recent album The God Complex. This album has an amazing lyrical content that questions the existence of God and through very auto-biographical writing the album is extremely personal and moving.
Songs such as The God Complex and No God spoke massively to me the first time I heard them, and seeing it live just exaggerated the passion and desire the band put in to their work.
I haven't though about morality and religion a lot since I finished my A-Level in R.E but the lyrics of this album coupled with getting a new job have kick started my mind.
I've started working as a Ward Clerk at the hospital where I live. I was originally sceptical about this job, but in the week I have been working I have started to find a massive amount of respect for both the staff and especially the patients. The ward I am working on is the cancer ward and it is this that has made me think more about the theological world.
As i was walking through the ward I saw the Catholic chaplain going into a patients room.
These are seriously ill people who inhabit our ward and it perplexed me as to how he could do this job.
I do not disrespect people with religious belief, I have just never found comfort in religion.
The question I asked myself was, what does the Chaplain say when he is with a patient.
They have been stricken by a chronic, life shortening illness and are close to death. Does the Chaplain try to rationalise what has happened to them? Does he apologise for the fate that their God has put upon them? How can people hold belief in a God when they're life has hit such a dreadful period?
I question God for this reason? God loves and cares for his people, but if so, then why would anybody with a chronic illness like Cancer be allowed to die?
It does amaze me when you see some of the patients, although they are ill they have a positive attitude that defies belief. I have a massive respect for them
The nurses deserve a huge amount of respect for the job they do. When someone dies suddenly after perhaps being nursed by a small team for weeks or months, it must hurt inside, do they wonder if they could have done more?
Seeing the workings of this tight unit from the outside looking in has given me a new perspective on life.
No matter how hard you think you have it, there are people much worse off, who despite all of their problems are positive.
peace.x
