What would you like to see more of in the World?

 

Twelve years ago today, on 3rd Augsut 2009, I completed my one hour on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, London, as part of artist Antony Gormley's "One and Other" project.

I'd been randomly selected from those who applied to stand on the plinth (my  daughter entered my name without me knowing) and on reflection it was one of the most memorable things I've ever done, although it was both scary and challenging at the time.

My granddaughter - my first grandchild - was born while I was on the plinth, making the event even more significant, and today is her 12th birthday. She's now pre-teen, and will be a teenager in a year's time. I'm currently musing on what sort of world - the world we're in right now - she's going to inherit.

Ahead of my stint on the plinth, I asked friends and family "What would you like to see more of in the world" and they provided plenty of words expressing different qualities.  I read these out while I was up on the plinth, many of them receiving cheers and applause from the crowd down below (they also cheered enthusiastically when I announced the birth of my first grandchild, news of which had been shouted up to me by excited family down on the ground).

In these current times of uncertainty, pandemic, upheaval and ever-encroaching climate change I feel the need to reiterate and re-share some of the words I read out as a reminder and a memory-jogger of collectively held aspirations for a better world. We can always do better.

It's easy to be complacent, especially after 16 months of lockdowns and disappointments, so it's good to remind myself (you too if you take this on board) that we all have the power - the "power of one" (ourselves) -  to work towards something more positive in the months and years ahead. And to remember that children - like my increasingly grown up granddaughter -  are our future.

While I was on the plinth I read out most of the 94 words sent to me by family and friends saying what they would like to see more of in the world. Everyone involved offered words which have qualities and meanings that are universally understood and go beyond the personal.

It's time to reconnect with them and live them.