Notes to a Friend by Joy Cowley

For centuries, western society has been embedded in Christian teaching. Now, for a number of reasons, this has changed. Surveys reveal that while 80% of the population believe in God, less than 20% attend a church, which means that the scriptural references cherished by many Christians have no meaning for a large number of people. Increasingly these people are coming to retreats, spirituality workshops and days of reflection. They are outside religious structures, and are likely to remain so, but they are all seeking maps for the journey. As a woman said, "We are here because we are hungry".

This book is a response to that need. The author has tried to clothe the word of God with new flesh. The notes in this book borrow from centuries of Christian devotion but leave out the church language that sounds alien to many.

Joy Cowley believes that she was prompted to write these notes in the company of the Master who said, "Others I have who are not of this fold".

From the section on Devotion:

"Dear Friend,
Your heart is leaning
towards something so sweet
you can almost taste it.
You don't know what it is.
You want more of it
but you don't know how
to satisfy that hunger.
This secret, my friend,
is hidden inside you,
inside all creation.
We too, don't know how
to describe it with the mind,
but we know it as our true reality,
the eternal source of our being,
and we call it God."
p. 6 Notes to a Friend.

From the section on Healing:

"Dear Friend,
Compassion is not pity.
Pity has a subject and an object,
a hierarchy of effect.
Compassion is about connection,
a sharing of feeling,
a recognition that we are all one.
It is not that we are asked
to carry each others burdens
but to see that the others burden
is also ours. No giver. No receiver.
Compassion is walking together
in the light of God's grace.
p. 88 Notes to a Friend.

A summary of the book may well be what is quoted on the back cover:

"Remember we can always see
the road that lies behind us
but we cannot see
what changes lie ahead"