Home by the Sea

Images of sorrow, pictures of delight
Things that go to make up a life
Endless days of summer longer nights of gloom
Waiting for the morning light
Scenes of unimportance like photos in a frame
Things that go to make up a life.

It's an unlikely occurence, I'll grant you. But if you were captured by a bunch of ghosts while burgling a haunted house by the seaside - what would be the things that went to make up your life?

It's not all our choice, of course. Some are struck with illness - often tragically early, sometimes horrendously so. Some never see the daylight. Some have lives that are so threatened, so hard, so challenging that every day is a fight. But even then there are moments of delight - a child born, a human hand holding yours - I guess among the trouble. I remember the song "Undertow" (which we won't have time to cover this Lent) and its consideration of what you'd do if you had just one more day - instead of a comfortable forever-today while you wait for tomorrow to appear actually to do something. So what are the pictures that you can control that makes up your life? Cling onto the good - experiences and deeds. Every moment is precious - there are no scenes of unimportance really. Even just sat watching "Pointless" or "Eastenders", is a moment that should be special. It will only happen once.

Oh, and don't burgle deserted seaside houses. No good will come of it. If you remember one thing this Lent, let it be this.

And so we come to the second kind-of-end of this little Lenten jaunt through the work of the Boys from Charterhouse. The first was when we went through "Selling England" in order. The second, now, as we draw breath. Just seven days left to this series.

If you want me, I'll be walking across the sitting room.