new experiences in a different world...

Nicholas Rocke
Experiences from another world…
During the week I pondered long and hard about what new and exciting exercise I wanted to indulge myself in, I couldn’t quite make up my mind because there are simply so many activities that you never come around to doing. Eventually I settled on a trip to the cathedral as this is a journey I really would not expect to see myself on. I have seen a couple of magnificent cathedrals in parts of the world and so was a bit curious as to the aesthetics and more importantly, the cultural history of the building. Standing just before the threshold of the door I was slightly apprehensive and even felt as if I did not belong there. Yet, pushing this aside I slowly pushed the door upon to be met by a sight of beauty.
The building is magnificently constructed with a wide array of wonderful collages capturing picturesque moments in the past. I was also met by the sounds of soft African drum beating. These slow and soft beats were reverberating throughout the cathedral and were coming from four African men in the corner. I was intrigued as to why the men where there so early in the morning simply playing drums. I sat peacefully taking in the sounds for what seemed like an eternity, mulling over dilemma’s in my own life and in the world, thinking back to some wise words presented to me a few days earlier; that everyone is continually fighting an uphill battle in their lives. It resonated with me and I thought of the struggles that those men had possibly had to face in their lifetime.
This trip was intended as a simple walk through the cathedral, yet for me, through the simplest of means, it turned into something quite a bit more than that. It was a different experience and these are more often than not enthralling due to the unexpected happenings one comes across and the lessons that one can learn.