Life in the Sinkhole

On the news… A large sinkhole has appeared in Godstone High Street. On Tuesday it had grown to over 20m long and 6m wide. Yesterday a second hole had appeared; a car was teetering on the brink.

The story particularly grabbed our attention because Rachel and her parents used to live in Godstone. We knew Godstone and its High Street well.

Families have been evacuated from their homes… they fear an explosion caused by exposed cables… The evacuated properties were built on the site of a former sand quarry… Local residents believe there are caves and tunnels underneath the area…

Life and the sinkhole.

Also on the news… The US and Russia are in talks seeking to end the war in Ukraine. Ukraine’s president Zelensky says he won’t recognise a peace deal that’s negotiated without him. Donald Trump describes Zelensky a ‘dictator’ whose done a ‘terrible job’. Keir Starmer backs Zelensky…

Meanwhile Ukrainians and Russians are living with war, fear and destruction; family members are risking their lives, living with violence, facing injury and death… ordinary people living in their sinkhole.

I thought of friends whose lives are currently in, or on the edge of, their sinkhole. Recent stories of sickness, bereavement, pain and despair. The sinkhole is there, growing, out of control; their future’s scary and uncertain…

‘Pathos’ – ‘The quality that arouses feelings of pity, grief or sorrow’… Three potential responses to life in the sinkhole

Apathy… ‘A’ – ‘without pathos’ … I look at those in their sinkholes totally unmoved. I block them out. They’re not my responsibility… I don’t want to get involved… I’m a sinkhole avoider.

Sympathy… ‘Sym’ – ‘with pathos’… I stop and look at those in sinkholes. I feel sorry for them, helping and supporting if I can. They stay in their sinkhole, I’m a concerned sinkhole observer.   

Empathy… ‘Em’ – ‘in pathos’… I join those in their sinkholes. Alongside them, their problems become my problems. I feel, despair, love and hope with them. I’m an involved sinkhole participator.