A message from the Chaplain, Rev'd Dr Rob Beamish
There is an obvious tension between the desire we can have for quick results, and the truth that much which is worth anything in life can take some time and effort to obtain.
The philosopher Friederich Nietzsche wrote that, “the essential thing ‘in heaven and earth’ is that there should be a long obedience in the same direction. Something which has made life worth living.” That it was Nietzsche who declared the death of God made it worthy of note when the pastor and theologian Eugene Peterson chose this sentiment as the starting point for a book all about deepening one's relationship with God.
What Nietzche grasped and Peterson developed, was that we need to be reminded that one cannot always seek to circumvent the hard work and long hours which bring long-lasting development in many aspects of life.
Whether it’s hearing of Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule of the amount of time required to develop a skill, or the simple realisation after a tricky and painful marathon run, that more training would have been good, there are times in life when we know that we simply have to put the effort in to get the results we want.
There will always be the promise of the quick fix, that method or device which can cut the time and effort, but in reality, it is often more about the journey than the destination. My experience has often been that things gained without some cost are not valued to the same degree as that which we have to work for.
Nowadays I can pick up a computer and idly scroll through countless films, but my attention is not the same compared with when I sat down to watch a VHS cassette retrieved with great effort from a local video shop!
I am writing this in the midst of the exam season which for the pupils sees them applying skills and knowledge gained over years of schooling and countless lessons. When I look back at my time at school I can recollect taking my exams and appreciate what the results enabled me to go on to do, but it is really the journey I remember more. I recall my time as a tapestry of stories and encounters which continue to shape me to this day.
Perhaps then that is why Nietzche said what he said, and Peterson felt compelled to explore it from a faith perspective. That it will always be the long obedience that gives meaning to the results when eventually they come.
From what I see close up the teachers and community of Rydal Penrhos continue to work hard to ensure that every pupil enjoys the journey, the long obedience, and also get great results at the end.
This journey is about the sum of the parts as we all work together, whether we have current or historic connections with the school, to see every pupil fulfil their potential.
I find it quite liberating that it is not whether my talks in chapel and assemblies are remembered for themselves (I can’t always remember them the day after!), but that they are part of that larger tapestry of our journey together as we seek to build lives worth living.
