Seasons and Chapters

 

‘Spring, and the air's turning mild
City lights, and the glimpse of a child
Of the alleyway infantry’

From the song ‘Exiles’ by King Crimson

 

 

Well, it is certainly Spring, but I am not so sure that the air’s turning mild in spite of the lyrics of the King Crimson song (above)! On the contrary, it is very cold this morning and there was a dusting of snow when I ventured out first thing today.

But it is not so much the changing of the seasons of the year that is in my mind right now, as the changing seasons of my life and the turning of chapters.

Indeed, I am full of rather mixed emotions having finally sold our Edinburgh flat. That’s it. All done and dusted, the sale complete, the keys handed over, and the money in the bank…

…and that is all a great relief. There were a few hiccups on the way, so it is a real weight off the mind to get that all completed.

But I also have a deep feeling of loss alongside that feeling of relief. My last physical connection with Edinburgh has now gone. I will miss it, very much.

The other day when I was walking around the city centre, in between appointments, and in advance of finally handing over the keys, I felt such joy in being amongst the buzz, activity, and life of the city, and such a sense of sadness that my connections were being severed.

I so enjoy the ‘city lights’, and the streets and closes (‘alleyways’) of Edinburgh. But then, having not really lived in Edinburgh for these last seven years (apart from occasional overnights in the flat) I am  now wondering if it is Edinburgh that I am missing so much as simply ‘city life’.

As I sit writing this in a café in Glasgow city centre sipping on a latte, and watching city life go by beyond the window, I am thinking that it is the ‘life of the city’ rather than a specific city that I crave, and am missing.

But, neither Glasgow nor Edinburgh are far away, and here I am today enjoying city life even if I no longer live in the city.

Life is in a new and different season and my city living days are behind me. One chapter closes and another has opened.

There is nothing to be gained by living in the past, and much to be gained by embracing the new season and entering fully into the new chapter.