Infusion and Diffusion

Posted bymalcolmsmusingscomPosted inUncategorized

Infusion: From the Latin ‘infundere’, meaning ‘to pour into’.

Diffusion: From the Latin ‘diffundere’, meaning ‘to pour in every direction’.

When I was a child, I’d seen salt, sugar and soap powder dissolve in water and ‘disappear’. When water was poured over the tea-leaves they didn’t dissolve, but the water turned brown and tea-flavoured. I was told that was an ‘infusion’. Water was poured over, infused the tea-leaves… The ‘tea-ness’ then diffused in every direction into the water.

Cuthbert with Vanessa’s bull terrier Mildred

Yesterday…

…Cuthbert the Crow: Vanessa found a weak, malnourished crow, took him home, looked after him, brought him back to health, called him Cuthbert, released him back into the wild. He returns to Vanessa’s home every day. BBC journalist Laura visited. Cuthbert perched on her head. Non-crow-like behaviour has been infused into Cuthbert; it’s now diffused in many aspects of his life-style.

…Visiting Ben: Ben’s a lovely, older man. We sat in his lounge, talking about his past, work, family, disappointments, living alone… Ben smoked constantly. It was OK; I got used to it. When I left, my clothes smelt of cigarette smoke. I came home, spent an hour outdoors in the garden. I still smelt of cigarettes. Smoke had infused my clothes and diffused throughout them.

…Good friends: A couple of families are going through tough stuff involving physical health, mental health, relationships… It can be all-consuming… Thoughts, actions, emotions, are all focused on the bad, the worries, the uncertainties. They need to surround themselves with good, positive people who can infuse their compassion and wisdom into damaged lives.

…Musing:

‘We boast in the hope of the glory of God… And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit…’ God’s infusion of love in our hearts?

‘But thanks be to God, who… uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ…’  God’s love turns us into diffusers?

8 thoughts on “Infusion and Diffusion”

  1. I am still amazed when I watch old films and everyone seems to be smoking.

    When we went to the cinema in the 60s you expected to watch the film through a smog.

    When I was young it was virtually a rite of passage to learn to smoke.

    As a young teenager, my best friend’s father, a Free Mason and very “well to do” worked for WD & HO Wills.  As did my friend’s two brothers.  They were extremely proud of their employment.

    When I gave up smoking, many many years ago I found other people’s smoke horrid. But, I was never a born-again anti-smoker. I knew that for many people, like me, giving up is unbelievably hard. I used to dream of smoking for many years after.

    I also remember after an evening in the pub after a rehearsal that the clothes I had worn had to be washed. It all seems so anachronistic now seeing people actually having a smoke outside buildings.

    I loved the story of Cuthbert the Crow.  But I often feel a dichotomy when I hear about recuing wild animals.  I love all animals and possibly more than humans.  But, I sometimes wonder whether we should interfere with nature.

    One of the most horrendous things I have ever seen was one day when a hawk of some kind landed on a garden table about five foot away from my study window with a little blue tit in its mouth.  It proceeded to pluck the feathers off to eat it.  I didn’t wait to see that much but had to leave the study.     

    Your writing about all consuming worries.  I was listening to an interesting programme on Radio 4.  A psychologist was explaining that we, humans, naturally look for negativity in things.  That is why we usually perceive crime to be getting worse, when it isn’t.  Like the animals, our instinct is survival and atavistically we look for things that might harm us.  We only have to observe birds, squirrels, rabbits or indeed any animal in the garden and see that they are constantly looking out for danger.

    I know I was constantly looking out for the head when I was teaching.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. I’m interested to read of respected Victorian church ministers smoking but being teetotal – how social fashions have changed… I was having a chat last night with someone who wants to give up smoking but is finding it really difficult… part of the Cuthbert piece on TV was challenging the domestication of wild animals and birds… I think too the media must share the blame for making bad news newsworthy.

    Have a good day, Alan.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment