WELCOME TO WIDOWED WORLD
3 February 2009
Greetings,
As Britain lies in the grip of millions of tiny snowflakes, each one unique and unlike any other, I’m reminded of how, whilst collectively learning to manage our widowhood and share experiences, each of us has different circumstances surrounding us and therefore a different path to navigate. It never ceases to amaze me how many variations upon the theme I hear and I’m so often left with a feeling of gratitude for the blessings of a loving family, good friends, independence and a measure of security in my own life.
This leads me to thoughts about loneliness and an apparent lack of community interaction in our 21st century society. You may recall that before Christmas my neighbour and I jointly invited people from our small ‘close’ for a teatime get-together. The afternoon was a great success, some of us had a further get-together in the home of other residents immediately after Christmas and then more neighbours called in to help welcome in the New Year. Needless to say, things have gone a bit quiet since then but more of us now know each other by name, can call a cheerful hello from door to door and have a greater sense of belonging to this newly created community. Between 18 houses we have a real cross section of age groups and as the children grow up I would like to think that they will feel secure here and know that they can call on any one of us if in need of a little help. The point I’m making is that even if life seems to be purposeless and directionless in widowhood there is still a role for us right on our own doorstep if we choose to step up to it. There is scope for greater communication between young and older people and in creative and innovative ways using the resources at our disposal, we can help to make that happen.
Bring back community spirit I say – and the next event here with my neighbours will be a Hot Cross Bun Breakfast on Good Friday! I haven’t made a batch of Hot Cross Buns in years so will enjoy the preparation, kneading, proving, rolling out and baking process – the unmistakable aroma of cinnamon and yeasty dough wafting out of the kitchen along with freshly brewed coffee.
For those of you feeling more adventurous, another way of widening your circle and communicating with more people is to consider signing up for www.couchsurfing.com This organisation describes itself as ‘…a worldwide network for making connections between travellers and the local communities they visit’ and an extract of it’s mission statement says ‘We create deep and meaningful connections that cross oceans, continents and cultures. CouchSurfing wants to change not only the way we travel, but how we relate to the world. We strive to make a better world by opening our homes, our hearts, and our lives. We open our minds and welcome the knowledge that cultural exchange makes available.’ Several of my acquaintances from around the world use this organisation to find convivial and cheap overnight accommodation in the homes of like minded people and the arrangement can be anything you want it to be.
I hope this has given you food for thought to take you into the spring…