It is an annual event, and a simple one, a Welsh vegetable broth with a little lamb (cawl), bread and cheese with water and a little wine, and this almost monastic austerity accords with the teachings of St David who himself was an ascetic. He believed that possessiveness, in the literal sense, was sinful and that to believe we own anything, even a cow or a book, was wrong - all possessions are shared by everyone in the community, gifts from God and owned by God, nothing is "mine". There is a lot to be said for this philosophy, even now, in that having possessions can lead to separation and selfishness unless we are able to recognise that all we have, materially, is temporary and on loan, particularly since the money which normally enables it is valueless.
When he was preparing to die in his monastery on the wild Welsh coast, St David said, in Welsh, "Be joyful and keep your faith and your creed. Do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about." "Do the little things" is a phrase that is heard still in Wales, and which means so much, still. It is about simplicity and modesty, living everyday life as best we can in awareness of our truth and our reality. Our village gathering last night, where we met together, ate together, recited poems and readings together, was a reminder that the ethos of St David lives on, an anchor and teacher still, in this changing world.]]>
