Unhinged

'We must begin thinking like a river if we are to leave a legacy of beauty and life for future generations.' David Brower

I came across this quote recently and I'm still pondering upon its meaning. David Brower was an environmentalist, so it's quite possible he meant it fairly literally. But the quote chimed in with some philosophical thoughts I've been having recently. I've taken the decision to retire from my job sometime next year, probably September. With that decision has come a bubbling of excitement for all the new possibilities to be explored with the gift of more time to 'play' (though friends have warned me that time soon fills up mysteriously and one still never feels to have enough, even without going to work!) I have quite a clear image and sense of entering what I'd call 'my delta phase'. A river that reaches its destination slows down and deposits the sediment it's been carrying, spreading out into a myriad smaller channels, weaker and often shifting but covering a lot of ground - and often very beautiful seen as a whole. So, there'll be an inevitable and gradual slowing down; chance to cast off some of the clutter, both physical and mental, and a branching out into new ventures - but playfully, lacking the determined pulsing of the younger self that carved out a path in the world.

What that has to do with ironwork on a church door I cannot say, except that these hinges reminded me of river deltas.

Ha, told you I was being philosophical... unhinged maybe?