Our lady

The transitory nature of human existence is a familiar enough concept in all of its many guises (as a metaphysical notion – as a motivation to live a better life – as an unwanted burden – as a drive to spirituality) that we are all – in one way or another – already well versed in its contemplation and consideration.

Though we may tend in later years to an unexpected and (for some) unwelcome conservatism we more or less accept that all things must change – that decay and decline are inevitable – that entropy is the norm and that the steady churn of the seasons inevitably involves death and loss, if only so that things might be reborn once again come springtime.

Most of us wish, to be sure, to be able to get through our lives with the bare minimum of grieving (certainly of the kind that should just never happen, such as parents burying their children) whilst at the same time rather admiring the fact that we have acquired such an effective mechanism for ensuring survival and sustainability. If we were dishonest enough with ourselves to take any credit for this evolutionary strategy we might even feel rather smug about it. Though the shocks that accompany such major life events are always unwelcome (even should such a loss be anticipated) we, are at the end of the day, quite accomplished at dealing therewith.

There are – however – some occurrences of destruction, disaster and loss that render us speechless; a shock to the system that is felt almost viscerally. Such was the feeling I had the other day at the spectacle of the Notre Dame burning in Paris; watching the steeple come cascading down in a torrent of fire. Was this – the destruction of something that we had all unthinkingly believed to be eternal, permanent – not shock enough to shake our firmly held convictions to the core. I found myself unable to think clearly for some time.

A day later we can finally stop holding our breath with the news that it looks as though the structure of the cathedral itself is largely intact, protected in the greater part by the vault itself and, of course, by the heroic efforts of the Parisian Sapeurs/Pompiers. Had the wooden structures in the west towers – those that carry the enormous bells – caught light the story might have ended differently.

We know – not just from the pronouncements of Monsieur Macron – but also from past experiences at York Minster, Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace that the Notre Dame will be rebuilt. One might question the dedication of the requisite vast sums of money to such a cause; I for one would make the case in favour thereof…

…but that should in any case wait until another day.