All tagged countryside
And how we laughed when she told us in a slightly amused way that Vindolanda was actually a Roman fort and was not on the wall at all. She very kindly shared with us the name of a car park not far away where we would be able to see the wall but no, there was no wall where we were.
Walking along quiet lanes, tractors and farm machinery working in the summer-dry fields as drifting clouds of dust take to the air, little storms of rural activity and a visible soundtrack to our amble.
It would be so easy, I thought, so easy to simply get lost in a place like this. To let myself be taken back to a time where everything about life seemed simple and so very appealing.
Because we are not the large bank balance, the expensive house or the new car. We are not even the exam results or the job title or the company that employs us.
It becomes the focus of my positivity or general frustration, perhaps even more so when all around seems confused and unclear.
Because in these strangest of strange times, when anxiety seems to be caused by things we would barely have considered just a short while ago, It’s probably good to embrace a little nostalgia when the opportunity appears..
And now, today, it would appear, I have found out that during a lock down in a busy house, there really is nowhere to hide when you need to.
I heard those words earlier from someone known for their positive outlook on life.
We have been seeing things in black and white, lately, I have noticed
We are said to be the most social of animals, yet we must now find a way to avoid being true to our nature.
Just a young girl, hanging on, whilst desperate to let go. Hanging on, in touching distance of traffic and people, rushing, rushing, always rushing. With busy lives, places to be, money to make and dinners to cook.
A place that had once been busy and vital but now mostly forgotten by those that have moved on and a generation that knows no different.
And you see sheep dotted across the hillside, in fact, now you notice them, you see them everywhere. Even at the top of the steepest slopes, way above you on the other side of the valley.
For me, today, it was when I heard the sound of birdsong through the open window and the first drops of rain on the roof.
We have such a beautiful home, this planet of ours, why can’t we share it and love our neighbours?
These are the times when I feel I should not be around people. No matter how good or inspirational or kind they may be. And these are also the times when my self-esteem sees only what it chooses to see and finds nothing but its own version of the truth.
