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According to Michael Perry, William ('Bill') Arkle experienced an 'intensely creative period' in the months leading up to his death in October of 2000.
http://www.billarkle.co.uk/billintro.html
The writings from this period include the Foreword to Michael Perry's web archive, and also four short prose pieces named Floundering, Enjoy the Process, Apology from God and Cup of Day
http://www.billarkle.co.uk/prose/index.html
These late pieces apparently contain the fruits of a lifetime of deep reflection; but are (in my estimation) written from the perspective of someone who seems to be in the sanctified state of having his head in Heaven even while his feet are yet on the ground. Perhaps consequently, the style strikes me a peculiarly naive, and likely to be misleading or off-putting to those unfamiliar with Arkle's earlier and more systematic works.
At any rate, that is my excuse for editing these last four essays into a single, more aphoristic, piece; which is intended to capture what I understand to be the essence of the articles, in a more accessible and (I hope) acceptable form.
**
God is speaking throughout the following:
I smile like I do, because I know that everything that is happening is in place of nothing happening.
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Experience and waste go together and lead to discovery, so don't be anxious about results. Do not fear to waste your time and energy - you will never run out of them!
We think we can lose, but we can't: there are safety nets around everything.
All that is really valuable will come back to you when it is needed.
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What you see as misery in the world is often what you see in your child as he lives from crisis to crisis each hour of the day - it is the way young things grow.
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Angels live and work for me in the highest realms; and as teachers they will give you the powerful and highly-organized feeling of the structures required to build and maintain the 'playground and play-ers' for the great game of mortal life.
But the point is for you all to be quite free of the initiating organization and its necessarily awesome power and energy; so we, both of us, can arrive at a mutually-friendly relationship.
But if you get too involved with the activities of the Organizing Angels, you will probably not be able to do this.
Because, unlike me, Angels are self-conscious perfectionists.
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Trying to understand what is just beyond us is what I call floundering.
For instance, if 'God is everything' then 'Why does he bother with creation?' Well, why?
The answer is that God is a living God, and not a 'Done it all, that's it!' kind of God.
The unknown and unknowable is with us now - in the beauty of flowers. It feels so strange that we can grasp 'flowers' with our awareness, and yet find no answer.
There seems to be a package that includes enjoyment of the light and colour and shape of flowers now; and understanding the originating motivation of God in creation.
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I detect a big amused smile being directed at me; a loving smile.
Life is meant to be an opportunity for you to live out your best joys - I want you to smile on me as I smile on you.
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