UK: A Whole New World
 |
| Finally settled in my room, I entertained myself by taking photos. (Putney, London; 2013) |
Lost in London
I surprised myself when a close friend asked me what I'd consider to be the highlight of my trip to the UK. And by highlight, my friend qualified, he meant something that had left a deep imprint in me. "Being lost in London" was my automatic response. I wondered after blurting out my response whether I should have thought longer as it seemed foolish to consider losing my way to my B&B as an intelligent answer; however, the Freudian psychoanalyst in me thought that my spontaneous response said a lot about my inner (unconscious) self.
Looking back, why do I consider being lost in a city I was visiting for the first time and walking on almost empty streets partially covered with snow during a snow storm while dragging my luggage my most significant experience? Everything was new. Whenever I'm lost or feeling uncertain in Metro Manila and in most of the cities I had been to, taxis serve as my safety net. In London though it wasn't much of an option. I was warned about how expensive taxis in the UK could cost. It was my first day and I wanted my precious pounds to go a long way. I was left then with relying on my grade school-level map reading skills and on asking around for directions. As I said, the streets were almost empty on this snowy day and, for some reason, people either couldn't make sense of my map or didn't know where Clarendon Drive was. My spirit was even more dampened when I asked a man for Clarendon Drive and he gave me that irked look perhaps because he was in a rush and had to slow down to listen to me.
So, there I was, confused and a bit exasperated after my almost 20-hour journey. And yet, through it all, I bore my strong inner spring and summer. I found myself repeating to myself over and over again a quote from Albert Camus: "In the middle of winter I at last discovered that there was within me an invincible summer." I was not about to give up. No, I wouldn't take the taxi or ask my friend to come looking for me in Putney. I would find my way. Oh, I had that hope and confidence within even if I was feeling very cold and lost on my first winter. It was pure grace to hold on to such spirit amidst hunger, fatigue, and worry.
When I finally had the chance, I googled Camus' quote and found several versions. This one I liked the most: “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world
pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something
better, pushing right back.” It spoke of the strength of the human spirit and of how I have such strength within me. That may be my first real winter but I had been through many winters in my own life and I had often been in awe as I looked at myself after each winter - at what I went through, at how I managed to go and grow through it, at the inner strength I discovered, and at how God was a faithful companion through each and every winter of my life.
London: The Land of Tubes
London will always strike me as the land of tubes. I found it truly amazing how one could go around such a big city and move to other cities through either underground or overground trains. For a full week, my taxi mentality had to take the backseat and undergo a paradigm shift.
I can't claim that I mastered tube map reading as much as Joyce and Olivia did. What I'll credit myself for was having found my way to places I had never been to before with a little help from the tube map but mainly by asking around and relying on my intuitive map. It was an affirmation of how much I am more of an intuitive, rather than a sensate, person. It was also an affirmation of my capacity to adapt to a new situation without losing my wits. Most of all, the tube experiences allowed my senses of humour and wonder to shine.
The tubes in London made me dream of a better mass transport system for Metro Manila (and the Philippines even) and a better attitude about travelling for many of our countryfolks who seem to think that travelling by private car is the only way to get around the Metro. I wonder if an efficient rail transport is the answer to the horrible traffic in Metro Manila (and Metro Cebu and other Metros in the Philippines) and the contigency needed for the rehabilitation of EDSA - which means that EDSA may not be ready for a real makeover until after a decade.
The Art, the Artist, and the Artist's Creator
 |
| The Westrminster Abbey |
These sentiments of O'Donohue and Moore permeated my being as I stood in awe in front of various art works. Seeing the original Vincent Van Gogh Sunflowers at the National Art Gallery really touched my core. It felt like I was entering the artist's inner world in a deep way. It was like seeing how beauty and summer was deeply entrenched in the heart of a deeply troubled man. Sunflowers evoked in me a deep sense of joy, the kind of joy that is quiet and that permeates every thread of my being. Similarly, his Wheatfield with Cypresses spoke to me in a deep way. It is a reflection of the hope that held the artist together as this was done while he was in a mental assylum due to his nervous breakdown. I have always had a deep affinity with Van Gogh. Perhaps, it is because of my background as a mental health professional. Perhaps, too, it is because I had seen so much of myself in him, especially during my turbulent adolescent years and now in my even more turbulent midlife years. Yet, through him, I had also discovered the real stuff I am made of, how much different I am from him. Beauty and madness in varying degrees, triumph of the human spirit, lights and shadows. . . Van Gogh reminded me of these human qualities through his paintings.
Aside from the fine arts of the museums of London, the applied arts within the city proper also captivated me. As I stood before the Westminster Abbey, the House of Pariliament (and the Big Ben) across it, and the other beautiful structures the names of which skip me now, I felt like I was standing amidst a city that was an artwork in itself. It was beauty beyond what I could imagine. It was one thing to see these structures in postcards and in the internet and another to be actually standing before these and seeing these with my own eyes. I felt what "amazing grace" is like in a deep way. I had an even deeper experience of this grace that amazes the heart and soul as I stood before Sir Christopher Wren's St. Paul's Cathedral. To whom does one attribute such great gift in a man - a man who was architect of many other cathedrals in London - other than to his creator? It was really an experience of seeing God through the gifts of God's human creation.  |
| Sir Christopher Wren's St. Paul's Cathedral |
The bridges of London which is another highlight of my trip will have to wait till next time, and so will my gastronomic experience.
Comments
Post a Comment