If your life is dominated by the idea that “not to be born is the most to be desired” [Sophocles] - you are in a lot of trouble. If your life is driven by a desire for “complete happiness” – you are in a lot of trouble. Most people have life-experiences that are varied and range from very negative to very positive. These ideas seem to have ‘got at us’ not least because of covid-19 but also because of our own health-issues. So this blog has a new drawing and a new poem and links to our new THBH ‘Being at home’ article and to the previous ‘church and community’ item on ‘Suffering, joy and struggle.’
Tony Holden - And be at home there, March 2021
To the north - through the window at street-level
Is ‘our’ [bigger-than-the-house] oak-tree -
It grows on Staples Hill and stands tall and branched,
A first step into the kilometres of ancient Epping Forest.
To the south upstairs - we have a view
Of a horizon beyond trees and our commuter town -
A cityscape that includes the Greenwich Millennium Dome,
Embracing London’s diverse millions.
To the south downstairs – we sit out on our patio
It is our doorway, our memory, our imagination’s store –
To the sea, London, European cities, the Milky Way,
And above us, there is endless cerulean sun-blue sky.