Lark Rise to Eden

In the background "Lark Rise to Candleford" is playing.  A story of simple countryfolk whose accents are approximately 150 miles to the south-west of where they are supposed to be.
There's a dream of  rural utopia, where communities were together.
Where people walked around in sepia.
Where every problem could be solved by a bit of community feeling.
Where the reapers head out into the golden corn with a "hey nonny" and the silver, flashing sickels.

And the Beaker People look back to a golden age when we were in touch with the Earth.  When our spirits were as one and the whole world sung with the glory of the earth-power.

And the Pentecostals tell stories of the days after Pentecost, when life was just like it is in a dusty church hall in Derby.

And the pagans try to recreate the days when everybody knew the Earth Goddess - or Diana - or Apollo - or Odin - or whoever.

There's a deep longing in all of us - a pull back to a world that once was - yet never was.  Where we were innocent, and free, and in tune with God and the world.  A time when all was right.

But is it a pull backwards - or a pull forwards?  Is our Eden in the past - or in the future - or is it in our present?  Horizontal or Vertical?  A dream to build a new Jerusalem - or the safe place we retreat to when the world is hard and harsh?

Well, I hope you weren't looking for answers....