Freezing Time

I find myself taking so many pictures on this trip. 327 to be exact. I'm so thankful that I have. I want to remember everything about this experience. The buildings, the food, the people. If I could figure out how to save some of the smells I would. I don't want to forget anything about the amazing experience that has shaped me in so many ways. When we read John Keats' poem "Ode to a Grecian Urn" I understood why he felt it needed to be immortalized in print. There is definitely something to be said for the urns. We were able to find some at the British Museum this afternoon and they were amazing. So detailed and in great condition for being thousands of years old. They tells stories of life long ago and keep those moments alive. Keats discusses how for those on the urn will never kiss, the seasons will never change, and there will be no variation in life. In some ways that is good and bad. Who wants to leave a great season of life? No one looks to the future and says "Oh I hope it gets worse from here." Those frozen on the urn can live on in a "happy, happy" time, while those not on it fade away. They are not immortalized in art for the rest of time. Children and adults alike don't peak at them in museums daily. For the characters of the urn, life has stopped and they are stuck. Like I said there is beauty in it but I also see it from another perspective. Although that moment in time is forever, there is no change for them. Change is good, change is healthy. This trip has given change, more than I knew I needed. I would freeze time if I could but that's not how it works. We have to press on. We have to go back to Ruston and work and monotony but we will always have a piece of London in our hearts. Just as the people of the urns are stuck in that point in history as Keats writes, part of me will always be stuck in London. My memories, pictures, and journals will help me remember this trip forever and I am so grateful.