Sands of Time

I live in the Surrey Heath area which has tracts of sandy heathland much of which has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to the wildlife and fauna there. I have walked across many of the tracks near my house thousands of times and today wondered whether some of the stones may have been trampled to sand by my heavy tread as the years have gone by.
I usually walk past the ancient bronze age barrows which are said to have been created around 3,000 BC. As I pass I always give thanks to the ancestors who would have cared for this land so long ago. Imagining their lives it is hard to believe just how reliant they would have been on the vagaries of the weather resulting in a constant struggle to survive. I consider how their feet would have traversed this land as mine do now albeit with a different purpose.
The weather now however is becoming as much a concern to us as it was all those millenia ago. The constant rains this summer have perhaps prevented the all too frequent seasonal woodland fires here but other areas of the world have not been spared. My thoughts turn to southern Spain where I spent many childhood holidays and to North West America where friends have been affected by wild fires.
The sands of time are constantly shifting and we too find ourselves surrounded by uncertainty. It often seems that the very earth we walk upon is unstable as the political and economic climate heats up almost reflecting the increase in volcanic and earthquake activity alongside global warming.