The Place

While cleaning in Holland Park today, I was struck by the presence of a very fine tree along one of the pathways. Although it was not the tallest, nor the widest or the bulkiest, the way in which the morning sunlight shone past its leaves made it look exceptionally majestic and beautiful. I have had similar experiences to this before; once, while I was walking in St James' Park with my family, there was a young oak tree that produced a similar effect. Although it stood apart from the other trees, it was given a special aura by the light that I found very impressive.


 
Left: the tree in Holland Park that I saw while volunteering

A tree is a lot like a human being. It requires much effort to raise and nurture, and, should the conditions around it not be right, it will not grow well and succeed. It is vulnerable to consumers, diseases and the power of the environment. But if it reaches maturity successfully, then it has the potential to live for a very long age, to have many offspring, and to benefit its community by supporting other organisms and keeping the surrounding soil solid and secure.

As we approach the end of today, the tenth occasion where we clap for our carers on the streets, shouting and banging pots and pans to show our acclaim for them, rumours appear in the news that this may the last time such an event occurs. In a way, I believe that this signifies the beginning of the end of lockdown, and signals that we may soon return to normality - albeit a new normality, with the shadow of disease still looming over us, but still a normality where we can talk freely to each other, meet each other again and not worry constantly about transmission and reinfection. Thus I want to look back over what lockdown has done for me so far, in preparation for going onto a new stage in my life.

Through the course of these past ten weeks, I feel that I have become more developed as a human being, both through doing service by cleaning parks, and by becoming more empathetic and understanding to those around me through conversation and deeper thought. To return to the tree metaphor, I believe that I've extended my roots into deeper, more fertile soil that stimulates my thoughts and allows me to branch out, connecting with others along the way. So, while lockdown has had its downsides for me, I am grateful to it in a way for getting me back onto a better path. What remains now is to see whether that will change how I behave in the wider world.

There is now a special place that I will hearken back to whenever I go past a tree like I saw today, under a similarly radiant sun and clear, cloudless sky. The place is not a physical place; it is not just restricted to Holland Park, or St James' Park, but it will go with me wherever I go, in whichever country I live, at whatever time I happen to come across it again, whether that be in five, ten or fifty years, and whatever status in life I have at that point. Instead, it is in my heart, and I can look at it with the same feelings that I felt in that place today.

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