Travelling in New York some years ago, my wife and I spent some hours in Central Park. On our walk we came across three acres dedicated to the memory of John Lennon. They’re called ‘Strawberry Fields’ and they contain plants and trees from more than 100 countries of the world.This was the place the former Beatle loved to frequent and it’s just over the road from his apartment on seventy-second street where Lennon was shot and killed on 8 December, 1980.
On a path in the fields is a circle with lines radiating outwards. In the middle of the circle is the one word, ‘IMAGINE.’ Several people were sitting there in silence on park benches. Floral tributes were strewn across this memorial.
I love the tune of that song;
I love the encouragement to imagine ‘all the people living life in peace.”
I love the invitation to imagine together in the words:
“You . . . you may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one.
I hope some
day you’ll join us.”
To imagine peace together and discover ways of making peace is still relevant two decades after this invitation was first extended.
Geoff Pound
Image: Plaque on the path in Strawberry Fields.