The Forgotten Swordsman

Many years ago I began to take an interest in swords and swordsmanship. In these younger years I enjoyed the myths, legends and tales that surrounded them but as time passed I started to learn far more than I expected. My interest in the sports and films surrounding them began to wain and instead I began to see their evolution, place in history and the wider parallels to human nature as far more interesting.

Each style of blade was like a tool reflecting the point in history, geography, skill with metallurgy and the social/psycological effects of the age. The understanding of tools is a subtle and revealing art, every curve & pattern reflects so much. From the skill and understanding of the maker to the size, ability and location of the user. It is easy to loose sight of the simple things, but it is these that educate and inform us, opening the mind to such perceptions can reveal truths way beyond that of an object.

We seem to live in an age where brands and labels hold sway. The signature and reputation of the craftsman has given way to the blanket corporate label with its promises and assumptions of status and taste. The skill of the users is measured in sports and celebrity. Perhaps by my drive to seek understanding I have consigned myself to the sidelines of mainstream society, but it is through understanding that I find my rewards.

The Moonlit March Hare

Its never a good start to the day to receive an e-mail clearly composed to cause problems. Glancing through the twisted words and pointed accusations it was clear that the author was playing games and attempting to bolster his status with those above him in the organisation. I couldn't help but notice the addresses of "superiors" copied in to the e-mail. Initially my annoyance grew and I began to compose a response within my mind before a realisation struck me. The e-mail was founded on incorrect facts & assumptions. I looked his demands for information and after due consideration pressed the delete key before getting on with tasks I needed to undertake for the day.

However, despite my action, such words tend to stay with you during the day and wriggle their way back into the front of the mind. As the sun began to set I decided to take a break and walk the issues away. The sunset was beautiful, deep reds and oranges lit the horizon and the earth still retained its warmth from a clear spring day. Above me in the deepening blue hung the full moon. As I stood taking in the scene the silent white shape of a Barn Owl glided by. The Owl seemed utterly unconcerned by me and passed by me some fifteen to twenty feet away. It was close enough for me to see the sandy markings on the back and wings, and also close enough for the soft feathers to reveal the silence of the wing strokes. Looking to the grasslands I watched the bird across the fields, my eyes were then taken to the shapes on the floor. Boxing and chasing the Brown Hares were at their courtship. The furrows that hid them from view were left well behind as they took to their spring rituals.

With a spring sunset and a full moon my mind was eased. Here there are simple truths and wonderful sights to behold. I lost track of how long I drank in the scene, time seems to be of little matter when the mind and senses are full of what is truly important.

Long Knives

The solitude of a woodland trail has often provided me with the time and space I need to help put things into perspective. Many times I have looked at what is important to me and weighed it up against the demands of others. Within my work I have often seen the politics of the office playing like a macabre theatre, the games played by workers and managers as they further their own careers, jockeying for position or battling to survive.

As I have perhaps explained before within this blog, it is the focus and drive to produced a well crafted design that drives me. I enjoy such simplicity and have changed my life to try to keep myself within such realms. However I am always aware of the games and backdrops that surround me. I also see how they reflect into the wider world into the news and politics.

The desire to control people and resources is understandable and is part of our very evolution though history. I find it is important to learn the lessons of those who have been used, betrayed or overtaken just as much as it is to see the lives of those who are perceived to be successful. As is often the case, when you combine the tales and regard with an open mind, the truth will sit in the middle.

It seems that whatever we do there will be the proverbial long knife in the darkness. Perhaps the skill is not being the one who wields it or avoids it, but to be the one who looks through the darkness to see the truth of what it there.

The Flock

Set against the failing light of an evening sky I have often enjoyed watching the starlings searching for their safe roost. Once a woodland bird they seem to have adapted to the farmlands and urban spaces, but it on the edge of the wood watching the shifting mass of hundreds of birds set against the sunset where they are most special for me.

In many ways these birds remind me of people. They find their security in numbers and the shifting movements of the flock remind me of the ebbs and flows of both the physical movements of people and of the changes of opinions and viewpoints with regard to the whole. It is an incredible sight when the direction of the flock is changed by the actions of a single bird, one observation or shift in movement can turn a neighbouring bird and the effect ripples through the whole flock and the effect is truly spectacular.

It is thanks to the actions and initiations of a few people that it appears our woodlands are safe for now. They have helped move half a million of us to raise our objections to the sell off of the forests by a gentle steer. In particular I would like to pass my thanks on to Hen, Karen & Nick, I will wish you well whenever I see the starlings in flight.

The Haunting of the Mind

Sitting within the quiet and darkness gives many moments for self reflection. I find I am able to allow my mind to travel back through time and watch memories. Often the scenes I chose to view are uncomfortable and of times where I have been a source of disappointment, ridicule or simply a victim of the actions of another. It may seem strange to do so, but I have often found the hardest learned lessons are the ones I have learned the best. They are also the key to the successes.

For me it seems it is impossible to hide from the experiences of negativity. They will always manifest in one way or another, a harsh reaction, a phobia or a prejudice. To ignore them is to create a specter that follows and draws heavily on the strength of the mind when it is at its weakest. Perhaps this post is uncomfortable to read and may bring back such memories in the quiet moments for a reader, but it is worth bearing in mind that every negative aspect of life that is examined and learned from is a success. Every failing becomes a strength when it is not denied.

Armed with the lessons and scars of a past life and a willingness to confront flaws we can begin to achieve new heights and truly appreciate our efforts. There is much more to success than the simple act of gaining a reward, it is the balance of positive and negative.

The Need for Distraction

To walk a woodland and take in its scenes is for me a distraction from the business of daily living. At this time of year I enjoy casting an eye upon the emerging snowdrops or seeing the sight of a dog fox on his wanders. For me these "distractions" help to ground me within the cycles of nature and the seasons, they also remind me of scenes that have always been there to tell us of the natural order of things.

For a while this week I turned on an old portable tv to catch up with immediate news beyond the scenes of nature. As is always the case, I found I was saddened by the events of the world, but after the headlines came an annoyance. I found myself watching the sports round up and seeing an aging footballer promoting the importance of football and the people who make the game. I have no objections to people playing games and searching for a release for a while, but many seem to put such games on a pedestal and hold them in what for me is an overly high regard.

I find it hard to understand this elevation of status because of a game. It seems our desire to seek out distractions from life has taken over and have given way to commercialism and nationalism. These games seem to have taken over as an idealistic way of life and reason for being. Many times I have considered setting up a business to make money from those obsessed with sport, it would be easy enough to come up with a product and business model for an eager market. But I have found the idea uncomfortable, a little like taking money from those who can ill afford it and have not been encouraged to challenge the reasons behind an obsession or pre-conception.

I have a deep love for the nature around me and land in which I live, but there are many abstract issues with the people here and their society that I find hard to stomach. When our basic needs are met by the low cost productions of other nations, we drift into obsessions that in reality are of little value but ultimately seem to give control & wealth to a minority. I suppose some would say that these sports and games encourage team building & community, in its better cases it is perhaps so. With open eyes and minds the people who seek benefit and status from such pass times can easily be revealed. But from what I have seen, many do not wish to dwell on the bigger picture.

Past Meetings

One of the woodland I regularly travel could in some ways be described as unremarkable. It has no historic trees or tales to fill the mind and due to being used for timber harvesting it has an overly high proportion of conifers when compared to a natural english wood. However it is enjoyed by walkers, cyclists, horse riders, photographers, birdwatchers and occasionally bushcrafters.

A few years ago it was considered for development by the Forestry Commission. As you could imagine this was of concern to people living in the nearby villages and on the edges of the wood itself. One local man organised a meeting at a nearby village hall and invited local councilors and asked if a representative from the Forestry Commission would attend.

A few days later I found myself sitting at the back of this meeting listening to the various points and debates being raised and watching the personalities involved to read their unsaid intent. Many of the locals were concerned that the wood would become a "McDonalds" wood, making reference to another Nottinghamshire wood where bikes could be hired, adventure courses had been built and you could park and enjoy all these for a fee. All well and good if you want to take little Johnny and his pals for a fun afternoon, but not so great if you want to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet or if you don't have enough money to pay for the activities or the parking. One of the other residents told us of his issues with anti-social behaviour in the wood, and of him and his son being propositioned one evening by people using the wood for illicit activities. I know such activities do occur in that wood from time to time, but I have walked that wood at night for nearly nine years and found such people have left me well alone. The local councilor was an interesting figure and her tones and delivery easily gained the support of the locals, I am however a cynical type and wondered how much she took from the support and the deeper or even subconscious motives behind her eloquence.

In short, it seemed that despite some issues with people in the wood, local residents seemed happy to have a place to walk and that the wood was a valued space. The Forestry Commission seemed to have been looking for a test piece for small woodland development and found on the whole that the locals were actually quite happy with what they had already. Reading between the lines I had the feeling that the Forestry Commission was under pressure to make more revenue from the woodlands.

The development never took place and aside from some trees being harvested and other replanted the wood is still as it was. It seems that the desire to make money out of our woodland areas is still being driven along with the sale of the issues and problems that currently dwell on public land. After looking at the defra map for the proposed forest sell off, it seems my local wood is marked for sale to small commercial developers. If it was to be sold off, I would assume that the couple of public footpaths that run through the wood would be retained, but the smaller tracks and trails would not have such rights. It is these smaller tracks that most of the woodland users enjoy and are the key to finding the peace and quiet that many seek there.

As the population and its demands grow, we are in danger of turning our countryside into a giant domestic farm. Space and wilderness is needed to keep in touch with nature and put things into perspective. I have no intentions of paying more money to walk safe paths of a commercial adventure walk or see forests turned into nothing more than plantations and crops.