2020 A New Decade

I enjoy the partly selfish exercise of creating a visual and reflective record of travels. Our holidays and journeys often have an impact beyond that of just seeing wonderful places. It is almost as though I am being led through various experiences.

Shakespeare wrote of the ‘slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ and of ‘the whips and scorns of time’. I'm fortunate not to have suffered more than the ups and downs of life. I am can even relish the prospect of what is around the corner, whether good or bad, with a quiet confidence. Yet, I am not blind to reality.

Now in 2024, looking back, I see that in my first post in 2020 just before we left for a stopover in Dubai on the way to New Zealand, I wrote:

"In the first 12 days of our new decade. We have already seen a series of events occurring, not far from our flight path, that have underlined the uncertainty of life: a passenger jet shot down, apocalyptic fires and now there is yet more volcanic activity! Matt sent us pictures taken at mid-day in Auckland a week or so ago when the smoke from Australia [about 1,350 miles away] made them switch on the lights in the middle of the day!

Despite all my inherent failures, etc, I am asked to speak occasionally in Church. On the first Sunday of the New Year it was intriguing to be considering a verse from Isaiah: "Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples." Contrasts between light and darkness could hardly be more real at this time across the world. As I began to think about this topic, there was a 'cartoon' in the Times. [shown above]

I have a lot of sympathy with this message. There is so much scary stuff going on. From our local NHS / Care System crises and Brexit traumas to the Orwellian intrusiveness of the digital world and the massive issue of climate change, there is huge potential for explosions in the tunnel! This speaks not of hope but of the inevitability of disaster. Whether or not you feel it is illusory, Christians know there is darkness inside and out but believe there is a genuine light at the end of the tunnel as well as glimpses of light in the tunnel – it’s a case of: go and livetheflow!"

Within two weeks of leaving Dubai we found ourselves exploring a former gold mining area in New Zealand. We went on a trail that included a remarkable tunnel. Over 1000m long and dead straight, walking this tunnel was a memorable experience. The tiny pinprick of light at the end could only just be seen at the beginning. Naturally, this experience added enormous weight to the message I gave to others about four weeks earlier. I felt we were entering a lengthy period of difficulty and darkness.

Well, four and a half years later we have the benefit of hindsight. As it was, two weeks after we got back from this trip we were in lockdown with the Pandemic in full flow. Two years later Russia invaded Ukraine. We have been through a completely crazy period of UK politics with continued disintegration of public services. Time will tell how things progress but I thought it worth recording.

All part of Livetheflow.