On a recent training mission for Launching Leaders in England, we took a Saturday for some sightseeing. What happened next was like reading a story to my grandchildren of an unchanged land far away.
Downham, Lancashire is a village purchased by the Assheton family in 1558, and was reincorporated in the Honour of Clitheroe. The 2nd Lord of Clitheroe, who has maintained the look and feel of this village of less than 200 souls as it was a thousand years ago.
We observed a wedding in St. Leonard Anglican Church, walked the village, enjoyed an ice cream cone and visited residents. All of the acreage and physical homes, most of which are beautiful stone works of art, are owned by the 2nd Lord of Clitheroe and rented to the residents. The residents keep passing the opportunity to live here, to following generations, essentially keeping intact the atmosphere of this unchanging village.
The setting was stunning and reverent. The buildings were one thing, but the people were even more impressive. I observed this wonderful lady as we entered the village.
She agreed for me to snap her picture. Here was a resident for life, sitting on a bench, enjoying a dry morning with a cup of tea and her dog. Peacefully unwound from the world at large, comfortable in her own skin, she reminded me of how beautiful are the simple things; how foundational to our lives are the living legends of our world, both in souls and structures.
As I pondered this scene in my mind I was reminded of how foundational principles do not change in time; are relevant and beautiful because they are made of unchanging values and time tested practices. The clutter of our lives can be transformed into stability, and take us to a place of tranquility…..like visiting Downham—–once upon a time.
