QUIET CONTEMPLATION - ON 'THE MYSTERY WOMAN OF THE BUS STOP'!

'One of the most difficult things for us humans to accept, is to have our offer of help to others whom we perceive to be in need of help, refused. 

And yet, there are times when it really is the right thing to do, that of not to insist on helping someone who has made a considered decision to pursue a journey which we believe not to be in their best interests.'


A comely woman of only a certain age who potentially has so much more living to do, and yet, whose prospects of doing so seems so very uncertain. 

Who is this comely woman, who some might perceive as being so cursed, or as so blessed, that she should have taken up so small a space to live most of her daily life? 

Blessed in that she should be able to withstand the elements, cold and at times, howling sea breeze, as she occupy this small space at this particular bus stop. 

Or 'cursed', in that she should be deprived of what others see as the basic right of a person to like and sleep in 'decent and habitable' accommodation?

Who is this mystery woman, who,  notwithstanding what, to those of us who are accustomed to 'living in decent accommodation.' S,eems to have to live such an apparently precarious and even potentially dangerous life, by sleeping at this bus stop? 

Who is this mystery woman who seems so satisfied or contented to occupy and lay claim to only such a small spot on nature's earth? 

This comely woman, who is able carry all her earthy possession in in her medium sized suitcase?  

Who is this mystery woman, who, notwithstanding her precarious circumstances, is able to dress and present herself in such a well-turned out fashion.  

As she sits, and even sleeps sitting upright, on this bench at this particular bus stop.  Covered from head to toe, in her almost stunning attire, and generating the impression of being an ancient Egyptian or Asian priest or goddess.

Who is this lady, who is displaying such courage and imperturbability, and why has she chosen to take up residence at this particular bus stop? 

Where she is confronted with the alluring luxury of the with several hotels across the road, and the sea and beautiful beaches less than a hundred feet below the cliffs at her back?

Why has this mystery woman chosen not to accept any offers of help, which has been purported made to her? 

And how difficult it is for those who want to help her, to have to accept that she, this mystery woman, does not want their, or probably anybody else's help?

What is the reason for this mystery women, to have chosen to shield herself in this kind of 'power'?  The power of refusing offers of help, and thereby magnifying the powerlessness of her prospective and potential 'helpers'? 

Why is this mystery woman choosing not to do anything to relieve the 'burden' the 'chain of guilt', from those of us whose natural response to what we perceive to be someone in need, is to help them?

And so it is, that somewhere in Bournemouth, the 'mystery woman' continue to live the life she has chosen to live.  Or which her fate has chosen for her to live, and which she seems to have accepted and is courageously and stoically travelling.

If you happen to by chance, come across this lady, and is minded to engage her in conversation, and/or offers of help, and she is responsive to you. 

Do respect her dignity and her independence and listen carefully to what she has to say about the journey she is making, and her reasons for doing so.