“Better the wide world than the narrow coffin”

10 years, and a lifetime, ago I sat in Paris and carved those words into some wax which was then cast into a bronze medal.

I can't remember where I originally read the phrase, but the words resonated with me so much and I needed to take them to heart and make them solid and did so.

For 5 years all the medals, and other sculptures I made, sat where I saw them every day but when we moved house they got put into a cramped corner and, as the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind. For more than 5 years...

Until 5 minutes ago when a message from a friend reminded me of their existence and looking back at my blogs about doing this, and seeing the phrase I'd carved, shook me.

I, of course, stopped taking the phrase to heart, and could have done with the reminder many times, but today was a really good day to read it and take it on board. And better today than in another 5 years time.

No matter how scary, exhausting, overwhelming & confusing the world is, the alternative is much worse so I'm going to dig the medal out and put it where I can see it and absorb that message again.