Vanessa Feltz, Radio 2, Pause For Thought

Broadcast April 2013, theme of Faith and the Environment

"I’ve been reading a book by Owen Sheers who spent a year as writer in residence with the Welsh rugby team, following everything they did. His observations of life at the top are fascinating but one struck me as particularly interesting. He describes how players obviously have to concentrate on the game right in front of them, but also, as he put it, live in a peripheral world as well. By that he meant they have to be able to see what is happening at the margins, out of the main line of sight. Notice who is going where and be able to read expressions on the faces of those at the edge. A nod of the head, a dart of the eyes and everything could change. This really struck me, because that is exactly what I feel I should do better everyday.

My day to day life is often hectic, taken up with the practicalities of family living as well as trying to keep up with the big issues in the news. Its easy to lose sight of the peripheral world going on at the edge and not to notice that fewer butterflies bedeck the flowers in the garden or there are very few swifts flying overhead in the summer. But it is these small changes in the natural world that are so important as a guide to what is happening to the environment as the earth strains under all our demands. The vibrancy and abundance of nature reflects the face of God and it’s our duty to care for this wondrous planet that gives us so much and often gets treated very badly in return."