Open Gates

On my run today I noticed these old gate posts & it got me wondering what the landscape around us might’ve looked like in the past; it got me thinking about how things change & evolve, possibly without us even realising until we realise...

I’m sure there’s an old Keswickian who’d be more than happy to tell me what the base of Latrigg looked like when these gate posts actually defined a boundary, including exactly who used them and for what purpose & I’d listen with avid interest.

It’s a strange thing, though: change.

In many ways I’m utterly terrified by it but in others, I feel compelled to welcome it in. As someone who has often indulged in escape fantasies, I like to ponder what things would be like if I were to throw all my cards in the air and see where they land.

That’s the exciting part of change but what about the difficult part? What about the part where we need to adapt and accept?

As we celebrate 75 years since Nazi Germany surrendered to the allied forces in Europe and ‘victory’ was ours, we must not lose sight of the fact that so many of our forefathers & mothers were forced to adapt & accept in order for our world to be remoulded and reshaped into a form, acceptable enough to keep moving forward. This adaptability & acceptance must also have been required at a time where the loss & grief of losing loved ones ran deep for many. It must’ve taken a great deal of courage.

Here we find ourselves at a point in time where we need to move forward with courage & we can perhaps use today as a lesson from History.

With respect to & in memory of our freedom, we should be willing to adapt & accept for the sake of a better world for all of us.

Things may have altered suddenly but the gates of change are still open & I for one, am hoping I can gain the courage to walk through them.

Happy VE Day! Happy courage day!