Letter to Monty

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Dear Monty,

Authenticity

'When a farmer ploughs for planting, does he plough continually ?
does he keep breaking up and harrowing the soil?'

I have been given an authentic original watercolour by the botanical artist Ann Shelley-Lloyd - in exchange for one of my fresco paintings of a Red Admiral. This exchange means more to me than the hundreds of pounds artists seem to charge for their work. Perhaps I have lost my sense of value in the world ?



Authenticity was brought to mind by your reply to me about the fact that there is nothing false about the gardening we see on GW. I believe that this is true especially because you show us your failures. We see so much on TV that  feels inauthentic. I have at times lost hope.

We have politicians, reporters and presenters trying to sound sincere. Financial institutions unmoved by corruption trying to sound moved. The soundbites make me nauseous. So many empty words, so much ploughing up and threshing of the same old tired ground with its harvest getting smaller and smaller.

There is no satisfaction - no rest - little in the way of honesty - of being truly authentic - we are not allowed to fear, to be quiet - to be stilled - to be held in awe.

I replied to you with a deep sigh - I miss the authentic - I miss it in my own soul - I keep searching.






I am sorry if I am adding empty words to words and empty hopes to hope. Hope for me is in the tested stone, tested not by man but by God.

So much for my promise to not be melancholy!

Paul


Comments

  1. Anne Wareham9 October 2012 at 17:55

    Didn't see Monty's reply about authentic but tv in itself glamourises. And Monty gets distanced just be being a 'national' figure on telly and constrained by that.

    But this is mad - you are authentic. Don't know what you mean - you're one of the least posey people I know.

    Is it your authenticity or other people's that's the problem?

    O - maybe you are being a little inauthentic here!!

    And I still like your melancholy. XXXXXX

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paul Steer9 October 2012 at 18:28

      Ann, I am inauthentic at times, I suppose we all are, when we ask someone ...how are you ?...do we really want to hear the reply always ? I suppose it depends on who we are asking....but it just feels that in the media particularly there is more and more inauthenticity (if there is such a word)And we move from one subject to another at alarming speed. Maybe It is just a part of ageing.

      Delete

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