Greater than the sum of its parts (2)

It has now been almost two months since I last posted, there are a number of reasons for that, one is that I have spent most of my free time doing other stuff (some of which you will read about in future posts) but also a small part of my procrastination was that I was unable to think of something to write about that related to the topic. usually there is something rolling around in my head but not this time... until now:  

I finished framing up for the bath 

Then I built a the vanity unit that would hopefully give my bathroom some character and distract people from the slightly odd characteristics of the room such as too full sized windows that don't quite line up and the fact that the layout is a little unusual due to the joining of the two rooms without changing the plumbing around at all. I then painted my new vanity unit.

 We finished leveling and topping the bathroom floor.

All the walls that were previously asbestos had to be re-clad in fiber cement

 Then we waterproofed.

 

 

 And we tiled and grouted the floor.

So Far all the parts have been coming together in my bathroom fairly well and I am pleased to say that once I'm done the bathroom should be better than the two small, dark & damaged rooms originally in my house. As I mentioned before however this is not always the case, sometimes a finished product does not add up to the sum of its parts. I watched a movie tonight about gangs, specifically English football gangs It reminded me of something I had noticed once or twice before when dealing with groups of boys out here coming to youth events etc; a gang or the like brings out so many great qualities in the boys or men and yet some how the final product is far from good.

It is hard see why a group often mostly good guys by themselves; usually loyal, strong, courageous and who will give sacrificially for each other; ends up being such a negative thing for themselves and everyone around them. It is almost sickening to think about how these groups responsible for honing so many good qualities then miss guide and wrongly focus them to bring out some of the very worst in people. It is sad that virtues such as loyalty and courage are so often clouded by fear, a longing for acceptance and pride so that the end result is violence, destruction and ultimately more pain.

What these guys really need... in my opinion... is family, a loving place to belong and to be safe and an identity that isn't just part of what ever group, in short they each need is a real home & real life. The need for real home brings me back to my original objective for this project and as for real life; that requires a purpose and for that I would suggest perhaps a prayer would be a good place to start.