Getting across London today, from South West to East took me as long as it takes me to travel from London to Cambridge. I took a bus from Victoria to East Dulwich and it took over an hour for that leg of my journey. Sitting on the upper deck of the bus gave me a bird’s eye view of this amazing city and whilst observing my surroundings, many thoughts came to mind.
We are all so comfortable in our own environments and tend to traverse the same routes and patches for the most part. When we occasionally step out and venture into unknown territories, why is it that we feel somewhat unsettled and uncomfortable? Should we not embrace life in all its forms with a sense of adventure, new knowledge and a desire for variety in our daily walk? Perhaps its just me, with my familiar and safe patterns, keeping me boringly contained within my little bubble. Whilst I may not choose to radically change my living environment, yet by being open to other possibilities, it gives me a better sense of who I am and what my preferences are. I also realised that there is a side of London that I rarely see and that millions of people live in situations where poverty plays a huge role. I will think twice before I moan about my neighbours or noisy street or that I live in a shoebox with no outside space. Most people would be over the moon to live as and where I do. I realised that I am privileged and have only seen things in the context of my wealthy neighbours in my area, which is so short-sighted and narrow minded. Suddenly today, I was forced to place myself and my life in another realm entirely and it truly humbled me.
It became apparent to me that money and wealth play the biggest role in all of this. The areas where there was the most poverty , had vacant shops and sadly, many betting and gambling shops. Window sills were battered and peeling paint was commonplace. As the streets became more leafy and the houses well maintained, so changed the lay of the high streets. Restaurants and cafes became abundant and you could see that gentrification had taken place. This is not to say that lack of money is the reason or excuse for squalor or shabbiness. Well, it shouldn’t be but sadly, this appears to be the case, especially in a large, metropolitan city. It becomes a question of priority. If one cannot afford to feed one’s children, then painting a window is not even a consideration.
What a sad indictment of the world today that we base our lives on economic enrichment or curtailment. What happens to those things that are free to us all, i.e. the fruits of the spirit? The irony is that those with nothing display more of those fruits than those who seemingly have everything. Who then are the truly blessed?
