A letter to the future

25 November 2016

As the last of the lathing on the inner face of the external walls nears completion it is our last chance to embed something in the walls - a letter to the future.  I've wanted to do this for some time, but it was only as the last laths went up and it became now or never, that I actually got on with it.

It may never be found.  But how wonderful, if you were doing up a house today, to find a written message from the Victorians who built it, say.  A little bit of local history.  So Dave and I sat in the sun, drinking tea (of course) and composed our letter.  We started by introducing ourselves and explaining about the house, and went on to describe our beliefs. 

Here are some extracts:

 "We want to be among the people who choose not to be swallowed up in a commercial, anxiety-driven, greed and celebrity culture.  We want to gain knowledge and understanding of our land, grow food that nurtures and respects our bodies, and divorce ourselves from unnecessary materialism.

We can't understand how there can be people with children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, who can willingly obstruct the development of clean energy, electric vehicles, pure food, and other initiatives that will clean our bodies, minds and environments.

That there are people who believe that money is the answer, who think the more money they make, the better their descendants will be able to survive.  People who condemn everyone on this beautiful planet to a future of struggle to reverse the damage of a few greedy, thoughtless generations.

We write this in the hope that the future has learned from the lessons of the last century, that changes have happened.  That as you look around, you see wind farms, solar energy collectors, marine reserves, electric vehicles, respect for resources, plentiful polycultures and self-restrained consuming.

 We send our love out to you, the unknown future, and apologise, deeply and sincerely, for our personal failings: for every unnecessary use of fossil fuels; every purchase of single-use plastics; choice of synthetic fabrics, and all our other unsustainable choices in the five/six decades we have had custody of this glorious planet.  We strive to do better in the days remaining to us.

 We hope the future contains people who can read this, and that things are better for you.  There is so much more to say, but time presses, and this must be sealed into the wall.

We love you, the future, and we hope that the few who believe and think as we do will grow through the new generations to become a force that will overturn greed and fear, to create a better world for all people, animals and plants."