Tuesday, 9 June 2020

A Hollyhock in my Garden and Thoughts on Iconoclasm


I usually decide what I'm going to blog about the day before I post it. Sometimes I start writing it; sometimes I take pictures. Yesterday, I didn't know what to do.

I wanted to write something insightful about iconoclasm - the destruction of statues, images and other icons for political or religious reasons. But, to do so adequately would have required more time for in-depth research than I had. Also, my own thoughts on the subject are mixed. I'm not going to mourn the toppling of a statue of a slaver, but I feel sad when I think of ancient destruction, like the loss of the Library of Alexandria. Others, presumably, feel different and felt different. It is all to do with our view of what is important in the world, and what should be got rid of and forgotten.

But, as I said, my thoughts on the matter are a jumble and I haven't had time to do proper research. So, I'm not writing about that. Yesterday evening I went out into my jungle of a garden to try to find some solace from the woes of the world. I saw that my hollyhocks are starting to bloom. So, here is a photograph of one. Flowers are among the most fleeting things in nature. They last for so little time and need to be enjoyed while they are blooming. Statues and other icons are less transient - but nothing lasts forever.

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