365 Days, Day 54

Now, what is it which makes a scene interesting? If you see a man coming through a doorway, it means nothing. If you see him coming through a window - that is at once interesting (Billy Wilder).

You must not for one instant give up the effort to build new lives for yourselves. Creativity means to push open the heavy, groaning doorway to life. This is not an easy struggle. Indeed, it may be the most difficult task in the world, for opening (Daisaku Ikeda).

We went to Chichester by train today. Every time I see new places, it feels as though a doorway is opening for me. On our adventure today I saw so many little things which are like tiny stitches in the tapestry quilt of my life. I noticed along the way:

fields of wheat coloured grass;

rusty farm implements forgotten at the bottom of the field;

little white-clad figures playing cricket in the farmlands;

pink and purple pointy flowers;

podgy fingers scrabbling to get biscuits from a packet;

large legs in short skirts;

short skirted girl with high-heel shoes in her hand and none on her feet; men without shirts;

a crane with a luminous part in brilliant orange, the market cross in the centre of Chichester (thought to have been built by Edward Story, the bishop of Chichester from 1477 to 1503);

the Chichester cathedral with its beautiful Marc Chagall stained glass windows (founded as a cathedral in 1075, it has architecture in both the Norman and the Gothic styles);

the Maison Blanc patisserie (where we had the most divine little patisseries and coffee – zut alors – as Kyle’s little French chef that he drew to illustrate our nursery school recipe book would say);

red shoes, incongruous, on a lady wearing hiking shorts and a golf shirt;

scudsy little clouds indeterminately floating amongst the angry dark clouds;

Arundel Castle in the distance;

a house on the river overlooking Arundel Castle;

Lily thrilled to see us home.

We saw many beautiful things today, but for my one photo of the day, I chose this little alcove in the outside wall of the Cathedral – because it was an unexpected little detail. I like that. A little niche that holds secrets - was possibly a little window…

This part is for Nicki. There is a doorway in my subconscious. I remember a few years ago attending one day of a weekend workshop in Magaliesburg with you, and as part of the group, we had to each say how we saw ourselves. You said: healer. I said: entertainer. Now there is a doorway beckoning me and on the door is a little sign: healer. [?]