"The essence of beautiful is unity in variety"
- Felix Mendelssohn
So it's August bank Holiday, the weather is hot (a miracle!) and London is buzzing with excitement at what activities may take place during this, the day of freedom we've come to know as Bank holiday!
(It's somewhat bitter sweet for those of you who, like me, have already had 5 weeks off for our summer holidays; and before you say anything, I know, teachers have it easy right? Maybe we'll pick that back up in another blog. Teacher's holidays are not what I'm here to write about.)
Bank holiday isn't usually a time where I get great inspiration but this recent outing got me thinking. It's funny how, in life, we come across moments in our life where simple objects, beliefs or situations unite us, no matter who we are or where we're from.
After a busy day traipsing around the great city of London with a good friend of mine, it was all too soon time to return to the Welsh valleys, something that was very much anticipated having spent the day being barged and nudged like some giant 21st Century human cattle farm! I love London, really, I do. The lights, the sounds, the buzz, the mix of people from all walks of life, it makes it a fascinating city. I guess London is like a good dose of antibiotics. It's great to have once in a while when you need it but take it all the time and eventually the effects wear off. It was during my train journey home that I began to think about this concept of unity.
As members of the public busily filled the 8-carriage long train, it was a relief to find that the ticket I had booked was located in the "quiet carriage." A funny concept that I had not encountered before. A train carriage full of strangers simply staring at one another and sat in silence, quite the opposite to the train carriages I was used to in the Valleys.
No mobiles. No chatter. The tangible fear of breathing too loudly just encase you were to offend the passengers sat around you. If you've been to a funeral it's very much the same sort of feeling. Scared to even smile with the fear that you will get the look of death from those around you. It was pure silence. What a nice thought to think that the 2 hour journey to Cardiff would be spent in quiet; the perfect ingredient for some 'me time'. A feeling that was clearly shared with those passengers sat around me.
As everyone had taken their seats and the train had begun to pull off, I began to sit back and relax, that was until the carriage filled with a group of females who clearly were not aware of the concept "quiet,"nor did they have any intention to be so. There was burping and screaming, laughing and cursing, all set along what can only be described as a very colourful conversation. Not exactly the "quiet" atmosphere I had anticipated for my first experience of a quiet carriage. It was with this outburst that my thoughts turned to unity.
It was clear to see the disapproval and pure annoyance of people sat around who, like me, had expected this journey to be "what it says on the tin". As I looked around, the carriage was filled with passengers who, all too soon, were in unity. Strangers tutting to one another, rolling eyes across the train at each other, nodding to one another, filling their ears with anything they could find just to block out the cackle that was resounding through the carriage. This was unity at it's finest. There was something quite amazing, quite beautiful about this whole situation taking place.
Unity, I guess, is something that comes in many shapes and forms. I suppose it can't really be summed up in one simple definition. If it were a simple definition then Dictionary.com would simply state that unity is "the state of being one".
The state of being one?? Hmmm...interesting. On the outside its seems to be something positive. Being together, being one. Simple to say, easy to understand but the more you think about it the more you have to ask yourself, "What does that mean exactly in today's world?" Everyone has different views, different beliefs, different ideas, different opinions. Surely in the 21st Century unity is something that can never truly exist?
Unity is something that I naturally think of as coming from positive experiences. A hope that our favourite football team will do well as we support, a love for a celebrity or pop star that we are particularly fond of, or even a hobby that is enjoyed with others who have similar tastes. Unity, surely, can only come from positive experiences?
Maybe not, or so I found from this experience. It would seem that unity in the 'cackle carriage' came from a sense of joint anger and annoyance, a sense that people weren't playing fair. Unity was not established here from something positive but from something negative. "The state of being one" isn't suffice to describe unity, rather it should be "The state of being one through good or bad situations". I guess that is real unity. Being together through the good and the bad. Regardless of the situation or circumstance you are in, unity is the glue that binds us together.
Whether on a train full of people you've never met before, or in a room full of trusted friends, true unity can be experienced at any point in life and in any situation - good or bad!
Unity - The state of being one. Together. With that in mind I end with this thought.
True unity I've come to find is not about all people having all the same views all of the time, it's not about all people all having all of the same opinions all of the time, it's not even about all people having all of the same beliefs all of the time.
Unity comes from finding those things, those times, that one point in time even where, for a brief moment you look at a stranger and think, "I know exactly how your feeling." That, in essence, is true unity and that is something that each one of us can experience everyday.
Happiness? I know that one. Loss? I know that one. Annoyance at noisy passengers? I know that one too. In our own personal situations, different though each one may be, there is still that sense of knowing that we're not alone and that someone, somewhere is going through the exact same situation as you. Don't focus on what makes people different from yourself, don't try and change people to be the same as you, and especially don't feel that you are alone! Try to find that which unites you to those around you, that thing which brings you to 'a state of one' with someone. What a different place the world would be if we all did that.
A man once said, "The essence of beautiful is unity in variety," and after this trip I think I can say I know exactly what he means. Life is amazing! So often our time is spent crossing paths and building relationships with people who on the outside seem totally different from you. It is only in seeing through these differences that we find times of unity.
Bywyd sydd yn byw - Just living life!
RM
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