Having experienced enough city moments we travelled West and found the little village of Heyope. Heyope is first mentioned in the episcopal records of 1398 AD. and it was at Heyope that they unearthed the famous three golden ribbon torcs thought to be crafted between 1600 to 1200 B.C.. (See picture).

Close by, the HoBB Gardens grow – a ‘place’ for friends to explore and for them to find their own ‘Sense of Place’. Two maps of the original gardens exist – one to view and the other to understand. Little gates like the one created by Jeanne Corte ( see https://thehobb.tv/000194) lead out into the fields around and to a network of footpaths trodden for centuries.

There’s an art to opening and closing some of the curious doors leading into the Bods and Bedrooms here. One of the earliest doors to be carved, leads to the FOURTH ROOM where we have now placed the following passage by an *unknown author:

ALTHOUGH SIMPLE AND SPARE, the Fourth Room was not without its sense of style and purpose. Light blue painted, tranquil, but quiet. Those there, though friendly enough, looked enquiringly at the girl who had just that minute walked in.

‘Good afternoon fellow seeker’, said the HoBB Guide, ‘Let me introduce you all to this Seeker who is looking for her way in the wide world’.

‘Then let us discuss it’ said one of those who was there, ‘for few questions could be more interesting and it is a subject on which we know nothing’

‘The Guide turned to the Seeker and, with a voice that was only straightforward said ‘Welcome to this Room of Great Unknowing.’

‘Unknowing!’ cried the Seeker leaping as if she had been bitten by an asp, ‘How now! Am I so dim and dumb that now I am put among the ignorant? Give me prizes maybe, give me Logic or give me Expertise, but whatever you do, tell me, if you can, what Fools are these that refuse Glory, Reason and Riches and huddle here in their Room of Great Unknowing!’

The HoBB Guide looked steadily at the Seeker. ‘These Fools, as you call them, are those that have lived long in this place of infinite rooms and seen, as I have, many seekers come and go. They too enjoyed the applause on first arrival in Room One and tired of it. In Room Two they understood Reason’s power but saw its failure to light fires in the mind. They have seen in Room Three, that Experience, though of great value, all too often fails to change the world.’

‘If I were you’ continued the Guide as he settled among his closest of friends, ‘I should ask your best Question here. For here alone, I feel, they will listen, and fashion an answer that is yours alone. Here they are not fooled by fashion, tamed by reason or trapped by experience, but choose to work in the Fourth Room which is the only place where true answers can be found.’

………………………………………………….

*
We do not know the specific author who gifted these words. A plain crisp envelope containing them was found at the HoBB Gardens, obviously placed here by a garden visitor but without a signature. If they were the seeker, they found much understanding here, and in return, put into words what we find more easy to express in feelings.

From time to time, we are all fooled by fashion, tamed by reason and trapped by experience. Your surroundings influence you – you interact with them often without realising it. When I design living environments, I look forward, aiming to feel the total outcome of experiencing them. When I visit existing environments, I study the results achieved by their use before looking at their fixings and finishes.

Through market research, we can only explore today, survey yesterdays and surmise the possible results of our actions. Market Research can help us to avoid designing further environments that have failed historically. Real ‘wisdom before the event’ in all areas of society, can only come through developing intuitive skills.

We should all be designing today, for tomorrow, with a full understanding of the past. If this is your view too, you will be alongside friends when you open the door and enter the HoBB Gardens. If you intuitively have thoughts about opening your next door forward or wish help in creating more room for your infinity to thrive, we are already in contact with eachother, complete the circle and say hello.

If you are a Seeker, how many doors have you opened so far? What room are you happy to live within? You are welcome to share your findings with us and we hope we can open doors for you – for here we will listen, and fashion an answer that is yours alone.