‽istis reclaims holidays: part 2 (also weekending August 22nd 2020)
‽istis, in a UK seaside town noted for its large number
of holidaying visitors; families and friends in columns of cars and trains, heading
ant-like (if they could be viewed from the planes that might otherwise have
whisked them further away)… has time to ponder.
And perhaps, possibly, maybe some topical themes, issues and critical debates
(as the hard-pressed folks in education might put it) can be glimpsed through
the morning sea-mist. And ‽istis seeks an appropriate exclamation at the
vision: ah!, hah!, agh!, haar! or aaargh! (the latter depending on whether one
likes one’s puns meteorological or piratical…)
‽ ‘them’ and ‘us’ (again!); visitors and locals
– or - locals and visitors; not a ‘we’ brought together in a complex
co-dependent / exploitative / mutually-beneficial (delete according to persuasion)
system?
‽ the sea and the shore: levels rising; to prevent
and protect - or manage the damage?
‽ the coastal waters and the ocean: vital connected
living and teeming ecosystem - another of the world’s waste bins: flowing in, dumped
in?
‽ calm, harbour-walled sea: paddleboards and
inflatables; open-sea, busiest shipping lane, inflatables inadequate – dreams of
escaping the ‘push’ factors deflated, hopes of thriving in the apparent
benefits of the ‘pull’ factors drowned; for one, at least, no metaphor or
figurative expression – literally drowned
‽ holidays: a break from
work – if there is work; perhaps before furlough becomes redundancy; possibly before
a muted ‘Zoom’ call
‽ holidays: perhaps a
chance to take a break (or even give colleagues – or the public - a break…); perhaps
abroad, risking quarantine; maybe even actually in a tent in Scotland… Rest, recuperation, appraisal, fresh
perspective, consider reshuffling priorities and even people, devise a plan to
re-arrange the deckchairs…
‽ keep left; two metres;
physical-distancing on the beach; please wear a mask; please book; apologies
our theatre is closed; attractions-limited, reduced opening times… the new normal? To comply or defy, to bend
or flaunt, to consider that one is exceptional and an exception? - that is the
question.
Ponder over, the (holi/holy)day awaits and ‽istis
has to hold on to the belief that perhaps, possibly, maybe:
· behind the mist the sun waits
· beyond the dark night it is raining stars
· we will not be robbed of faith and hope, and
· this shall not be broken.[i]
© Pistis
NB: further reflections linked to this week’s theme
and past blog
entries to be found on Twitter: replies, retweets (which don’t necessarily
indicate approval, sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’: @Pistis_wonders
[i] from:
‘Confessing our Faith Around the World’ from Chile, in ‘Bread of Tomorrow’ ed.
by Janet Morley 1992
