Big Brother

Well I can resist no longer the tempatation to put finger to keyboard in mention of this years BB. Of course we have something of a connection to the programme with our name being cleverly derived from Big Brother’s Little Brother.

I don’t know if any of you are fans of the programme, I find myself watching it despite my better judgement, but over the years it has changed quite a lot. In the early days it was very much about putting 10-12 young people in a house together and seeing what happened. The weekly evictions ensured that people made friendships and strategic alliances that they might not have done in the general course of events. There was the occassional bust up and the odd liaison but overall it was fairly low key and they could only usually find 30 minutes of footage in every 24 hours that was worth watching. I say worth watching, it generally consisted of the housemates sunbathing or eating or sleeping, although they did allow a guitar or two into the early series so there was some entertainment to be had.

I am sure that those early contestants learned a lot about themselves and each other, I think one couple are actually married as a result of meeting on the show. One of them went onto mini-stardom working on a DIY show but overall they seemed (or seem looking back) relatively normal people trying to find something more about themselves.

Contrast that with the housemates of 2006 and the difference is quite startling. For a start the programme itself has become much bigger than it was and consequently, in order to fill all the programmes they now show around the main one they have to ensure that things happen. By that I mean people pairing up or squaring up. It would seem that to keep us viewers watching it there has to be the suggestion of sex or an almighty row. Without them we would switch off.

But as well as the programme changing it seems to me that the contestants are all a little more in your face than they were in the early days. They are probably all now trying to find some level of celebrity rather than something about themselves but instead are discovering some home truths and maybe not liking or being able to handle what they find.

I have talked before in this forum about the lack of connectedness that afflicts us today. Here is a programme that could allow people to make connections with themselves and with each other and they are forced instead to fight or flirt their way through the weeks in the house. For some this is too much and they leave early, for others, they lie and cheat their way to a hoped, nay yearned, for victory. Some though can rise above it all.

The people really making a connection with the audience and being seen as potential winners this year are the ones that are being themselves and developing as a result of their experience. You might not like the way Nikki seems spoilt and pouty but I have no doubt that she would be exactly the same if you met her outside the house. Glynn is finding new things about himself all the time (cooking - well making toast, and washing his clothes for the first time) and obviously enjoying the experience. As for Pete, he is getting acceptance where he once would have been ridiculed, again he is connecting with everyone as a result and will, in my humble opinion, win.

Get yourself connected…

I do like to introduce a little music to the blog where I can and this is a fine track, takes me all the way back to Rosie's Bar in Manchester and some fantastic nights out with me old mates from the gas…

But that's not why I have started this entry with that song. I am back to talking about bclc once more after a few rogue entries about beer and such like. This month we are looking at the 'spirit'. As usual we started with the worlds view and, again as usual, this lead to a really interesting discussion. We started with some Tai Chi (or Twit-chy as it was coined owing to the effect it had on Charis' hand). Bob lead us in something about moving energy between heaven and earth, it probably had a catchier title than that but that was the essence of what we did. Any local leaders reading this be warned, this will come up over the weekend when I am down to do the prayers.

Following that we looked at popular depictions of 'spirit' in TV and film. I chose a cartoon called the 'Avatar' and Star Wars. The former because it is about a child that can bend air and the latter because of the 'force'. My hypothesis, if you like, is that all these are different ways of describing the same thing. I went on to describe how I saw prayer as a way of channeling the spirit or energy or chi through ourselves or from ourselves to somewhere or someone else.

It was interesting to hear how other people saw the spirit as a personal thing. A part of us that guides us, like a conscience might, and has an inherent moral element in the way the force, or chi, doesn't. This differs greatly from the Eastern religions and their view of the spirit. They see it more as a force or energy that can be both good or bad (these are subjective terms and depend much on your perspecive) that is both within us and without.

This is the point that I really want to pick up on and develop if I may. Bob then suggested that what religions are trying to do is to enable us to make a connection between our spirit and the eternal spirit, or God. I would like to take that one step further. I now believe that as people look for a spiritual dimension to their lives they are seeking to make connections with themselves, with each other and with an 'other' that they have little or no knowledge of.

This sort of follows on from what we have discussed in the past few weeks. look at the breakdown of communal services like the park. People have lost contact with who they are - their worth is defined by economics, with the people around them - the end of society as defined by Thatcher and with God - the massive decline in church attendance over the past few decades.

This is where churches need to be (I think I may have used that phrase before, forgive me) helping people make connections.
As a coincidence this has lead me to a) thinking of a new name for bclc (not telling yet) and b) thinking of a job title and description for my local leaders role. Actually that is no coincidence, it is a direct result of my thinking about these things, discussing them at bclc and writing about them here. How did I stick sitting in church for so long?