Sometimes weeks start off relatively predictable and then they dissolve into surreal chaos. I was in Beirut in the middle part of this week and then found myself in the middle of one of the largest demonstration the city has seen since 2005. Witnessing men, women and children protesting against corruption, political class and the state of their country, was a moment that will leave a lasting impression on me.
We look at where we are in our own lives when we are out of our comfort zones and the biggest thought that really struck me this week ending is #gratitude. It’s a phrase that is used maybe a little too lightly these days but to have a home, health and a loving family, and feel the support of friends, is for me, equal to winning the lottery.
I realised that when I have used a common metaphor as ‘ just like Beirut’ when describing mess in a teenagers bedroom or the aftermath of teen prees …. just isn’t anything like the reality. I am home, in Bristol, feeling so, so, grateful that I am the woman who ‘gets to’ write , read and express ideas easily, freely. I am the luckiest.
Esther Lawton 