A night at the opera

I'm not sure how many of you guys have been to the opera, or would even go should you ever get the chance. I must admit that, when Bea suggested seeing Carmen at the London Coliseum a while ago, it wasn't something that was at the top of my list of things to do; but the truth is that I really, really enjoyed it. Not just the production itself (it was a contemporary version, by the English National Opera) but the fact that I was there, in a place I hadn't been to before. And I was doing something new.

Its a funny thing, living by yourself for a few years after spending a large chunk of your life playing your part in the traditional nuclear family. Its so easy to get into a routine, and to just keep doing the same thing week in week out, year in year out. Because there's a rather insidious allure in doing what you want, when you want... in not having to please anyone but yourself. I know that's what I was in danger of doing, even though I wasn't exactly living a conventional life (ahem), and sometimes I look at others around me and see the rut that they've got themselves in. And its frightening.

Life can just pass you by without you even realising that its happened. The time we have is short, and its precious, and even when things seem to be going badly - and trust me, I can relate to that - its an amazing world out there. And maybe this journey of ours can sometimes see like one long test of endurance, and can be painful... but you never know what's around the corner. The thing is, you have to have your eyes open to see it.