Highgate Cemetery

What will you do with your life?

This is the thought I have when I visit graveyards. Highgate Cemetery in London, UK is an amazing one. It has two sides, because it’s split in the middle by a road (Swain’s Lane, to be precise). One side is the “old” side and one is the “new” side. Those are in quotes because I’m from the United States, and my perception of old is very different from those in the UK, or probably all of Europe.

I thought I’d been to old cemeteries. “I like old cemeteries, with their headstones going grey when they used to be white, and…”

Holy shit.

Do you see how the graves are piled upon each other, going back and back and back? And covered in moss, with high trees above? It was like walking in the woods, only much more peaceful, and surrounded by old souls. I knew the fellow whose grave is tipped in the middle, there, didn’t mind, as he could go where he wanted, whenever he wanted.

Cemeteries are peaceful for me.

I do think about all of the souls or spirits or what have you, of all the people buried there. I think about how their troubles are over. I think about my troubles, and how small they actually are.

I’m still here.

While in London, I became enamoured with doors. I took lots of photos of all types of doors, but the high gate at Highgate is probably my favorite.

Everything in London is like that. Everything is extra. The United States by comparison is not charming. AT ALL. The pants were charmed off me.

I came home with no pants. I also had some perspective. It was refreshing.

I want to live my life so someone seeks out my grave, wherever it is. That’s all.