A Word In Your Ear - June 8, 2017

Now we can admire it while sheltering cosily indoors between forays to the shops and elsewhere. At least it won’t need me to water it. The style is very much ‘natural cottage garden’. If weeds have pretty flowers then they can remain, while established bushes and small trees cover up dodgy or overgrown areas. Anyway, we like it!

I am always reminded, when having to do some routine gardening work, of a lovely flowered area in a row of tumbledown dwellings in Sri Lanka. Whoever nurtured it had, with lots of little pots and baskets, created a natural and lovely oasis amid the poverty and desperation.

It’s rather like the pop concert at Old Trafford last weekend, in aid of terror victims, which made me proud to originally be a Mancunian: creating something hopeful from terrible events; showing our indomitable human spirit, and love of what is good in life.

When fear or distrust of foreigners or different cultures emerge, I also remember lessons learned while working overseas. In our newspaper offices and among people I travelled and lived with, there were many races and religions.

However, we all showed respect for age and experience, as well as courtesy and interest toward each other. There was lots of humour, too. Some misunderstandings arose from our diverse backgrounds, but we overcame them and grew as a result.

The reward was learning from others’ wisdom and experience, being given a wider window upon the world.

At heart we all appreciate beautiful surroundings, peace, comfort and help from others. There’s much in our garden of life to be thankful for. However, we must tender it lovingly, through all setbacks.

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