Yesterday I began assisting at a Fathers Group in the local area. All of the fathers have been referred there because of domestic violence, ie they beat their kids up, badly.

All of the children there bar one had deveopmental delay and bruising. The group seeks to help them be better fathers, teaching them non-violent ways of parenting, and non-violent life skills.

Sounds great doesn’t it? It is…It is also alot of hard work.

Talk about confronting all of my fears, anxieties, projections and inadequacies all at once!

After a while, I heard stories that went past the facade and into personal pain, struggle, abuse and neglect that was now being visited upon their own children.

“IF WE CANNOT TRANSFORM OUR PAIN WE WILL ALWAYS TRANSMIT IT” - Richard Rohr

I could not agree with that more.

I came home agitated, I had to decentralise, or more accurately, move whatever I have come to define as “me” away from the centre to allow God back there.

This is where I have read a lot about meditation and prayer. I do them, they help.

I have also found that humour leads me back to the edges, a good 2 minute laugh can do the work of 20 minutes meditation for me.

Now, if I could only remember where I put all those laughs…