21st April - Day 38 - A circle is a round straight line with a hole in the middle. Mark Twain

I know it’s not exactly a circle in the photograph but there is something about circles that we are drawn to (even when caused by a reflection). I’m sure we’ve all sung along to the ‘Circle of Life’ from the Lion King without thinking about the lyrics, ‘It's the Circle of Life. And it moves us all. Through despair and hope. Through faith and love.’ or used a number of sayings like, ‘going round in circles’.

I used to help out at weddings in a neighbouring parish to earn some extra money when I was a teenager and the vicar there used to deliver the same sermon each time (apologies to all those couples who believed it was unique to them). He focussed on the wedding ring being a symbol of love ‘as it has no beginning and no end.’. This phrase (in fact I could probably recite the whole sermon) has stuck in my mind for years and despite the cynicism or realities of adulthood, remains poignant.

Anyway, next time you think you are going round in circles, you can see it as a positive thing, not least because National Geographic some time ago published an article explaining that scientists had discovered that when people did not have anything specific to guide them, like the sun or moon, they really did go round in circles, crossing their previous routes without realising. Their were a number of explanations for this, including the asymmetry of the brain or different lengths of leg but others concluded that our sense of ‘straight ahead’ becomes corrupted by errors linked to touch, balance or spatial awareness. Given all three of these things are directly affected by cars or lorries that go too close to me when overtaking, it is no wonder I sometimes arrive at work or home feeling I’ve done the whole route twice in a big circle. But - as with the circle of life - we just have to take it all in our ride.