2021 Week 1: We Sit Silently

The first working week of the year is over. We are trying to adjust to the new normal - another national lockdown, struggling to comprehend what is happening to our world. The infection rate is sky high, the death rate in UK is the highest in the world. And there are still people who don't seem to understand how important it is to protect each other by staying at home, only going out locally, and when doing so, keeping a safe distance from everyone.

I spent the whole week working from home, only going out to buy food, so I treated myself to one early morning in Bushy Park. It was my only couple of hours out in the open space, but I was still questioning myself. Was a 15 minute drive the right thing to do? I still don't know the correct answer. I only know that I needed to get out and walk, to get some fresh air, to silence all the noise from the bad news we hear every time we switch on the TV. And it helped to get at least a small dosage of sanity in this maelstrom we are all caught up in.

The countryside is not on our doorstep. We can't just walk up a country lane, into fields, up a hill or to a beach. There hasn't been snow down here for years. And we haven't been blessed with a proper frost either this winter. All we have is this park, so even a grey morning there feels like a blessing. It is a welcome escape from the reality. Even if only for a couple of hours one day a week. I hope I can be forgiven for this.

We sit silently and watch the world around us. This has taken a lifetime to learn. It seems only the old are able to sit next to one another and not say anything and still feel content. The young, brash and impatient, must always break the silence. It is a waste, for silence is pure. Silence is holy. It draws people together because only those who are comfortable with each other can sit without speaking. This is the great paradox.

Nicholas Sparks

The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber. The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

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    1. Thank you very much, Julie, for your kind comment. I am very happy that you can relate to my thoughts. Take care, Vanda.

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