A note from St Anthony

I've just woken from a dream, Gordon Brown walking the walls of the London palace which was his home, where I found a note from St Anthony advising that a spiritual life consists of service to others.
It's telling advice. Years ago, when I was locked into a teaching job and yearning to write, I took my concerns to Mother Meera while staying at her home. She sent back a note with the advice, 'Teaching is primary, writing is secondary'.
Of course, it's possible to twist such statements to suit oneself. You can say, 'Then I will teach through my writing.'
Saint Anthony, the father of monasticism who gave up his inheritance and took to the deserts of Egypt, never learned to read or write. He realized he needed to balance his life of prayer with manual work in order to stay sane, and headed to the city to care for others in times of upheaval. I've always enjoyed teaching, and have found that my life has gained from the routine of a teaching worklife just as it requires me to write to keep myself whole.
I'm into a heavy teaching stint ... one that sees me rising at 4.30 like today to grab a little writing and personal time. It's an interesting question to pose to yourself, 'How does my writing help others?' While for now, I guess, the writing is secondary and the teaching primary, the fact that I teach writing clearly binds the two.
And what was Gordon Brown doing in the dream? I had dinner with his current biographer the other day, who would otherwise have been with Brown at Chequers but for his sudden urgency of preparing a compelling conference speech. I was happy to encourage her in what must sometimes seem an ordeal - for writing biographies of the living can be very bruising, especially when they are in their own times of crisis. The dream strengthens my sense of Brown, who of course has to wield his dark side to maintain hold of power, as someone who ultimately views his life as one of service. His is a complex story, but ultimately I suspect there's enough goodness there to make the biographer's efforts worthwhile.