Endings. Beginnings. Change.
It’s been a week. I got through ten days of quarantine, three negative Covid Tests (hooray!) and moved from Cardiff where I’ve been spending so many happy days while making the ADOW television show. Where to? Back to the past. Back to the future. Back to the City of London where I am surrounded by the boundary markers that tell me that I am home, in the domain of Father Hubbard.
From my windows I can see the medieval church where Milton and Donne worshipped, one of the bastions that punctuated the City walls, and the dome and spire of St Paul’s. I can also see the tip of the Shard—some modern spice in an otherwise familiar landscape. When I need to get somewhere I close my eyes and conjure up the Agas map of the City and know exactly which twisting old streets I need to take to get to the Tower or the Thames or St Bartholomew the Great.
During these very difficult months I have spent a great deal of time imagining where I wanted to be to weather the pandemic. I kept returning in my mind to this place, to London, which has withstood so many plagues, fires, and wars, and has somehow always emerged on the other side, Phoenix-like from the wreckage.
Life is short. And precious. And can change at any time. This uncertainty has taken its toll on me this year. I know I am not alone. Many of us have lost loved ones, or seen those we care about struggling. We will get through this. What waits for us on the other side will be different. But we will find out way through it.
Endings. Beginnings. Change. Hang in there. Sit within the uncertainty and imagine its possibilities. Dare to dream. Know that you are resilient, even though it doesn’t feel that way. Reach out to friends. Tell your family you love them. #WeAreAllSouls
