Madge Mahoney's Morning Musings

It was already clear that it was going to be a hot day. A scorcher as it was sometimes called in the sensational red tops. “Whew wot a scorcher” she recalled seeing years ago. It was always the same, rather stupid point being made by the daily rags and Madge had woken with gratitude for the sun and apprehension about the heat. Stupid was a tough way to describe things or even people and it wasn’t especially helpful but it was nonetheless there, in Madge’s mind. The sheer stupidity of humankind.

Well that’s not very hahalala is it she thought to herself and it was true, there’s not much happiness in feeling that the world is full of stupidity but there was no denying it. She was contemplating whether she would look at the news after she had emptied her head a little. She thought probably best not and yet, that itself seemed as if she were turning away in fear. The day before had been horrific for the families who had been attacked by a madman. A mad boy by all accounts because apparently he was only 17. There could be no ignoring what had happened and in light of the weekend’s events and calls for uniting the kingdom, things were not looking good for the public mood about the people on boats.

What Madge was wondering about, amongst all of the other wonderings, was what people thought constituted a ‘mental health’ aspect to such behaviour. It seemed evident from initial reports that some people were disparaging of the term ‘mental health’ being ascribed to the alleged attacker and there were of course calls for the usual responses. “Lock ‘em up and throw away the key.” “Deportation for all of them now” “Bring back hanging.” All hideous in a hideous situation. Yet Madge wanted to understand more than the immediate reactions. Surely, all these incidents and horrors were signs of a society that was mentally unwell? A collective sickness that was being expressed in hatred and violence. It was too much to comprehend really but she could feel the tension.

She took a moment. A sigh. There really did seem to be a worsening in behaviours, in responses, in the reporting of such things. Perhaps that was part of the problem. People had become so immersed in the news, they had begun to believe it all and act and live within those beliefs. It had been shocking to see the adoration being directed at a man who had changed his name, lives in another country and yet, is able to stir and lead enough people to cause deep concern amongst those of us with brown skin. Bizarre.

For balance, Madge knew she would have to spend less time looking out and more time looking in. Meditation allowed for a deep settling of the senses and Madge was pleased to have restarted her twice daily transcendental meditation that she had learned some 13 years previously. It was the discipline of practice that she found most challenging but it had helped her to be less reactive, less inclined to be irritable. In these times, with such blatant exploitation of people’s fears taking place, a balanced. settled centre certainly made life easier.

She thought again about the families whose lives had been destroyed the day before. There could be no words. Only the clarity that we simply never know what lies ahead and in any moment, all of life could be changed forever. This in itself was pretty terrifying thought Madge and it was why, after all the years of change and turbulence in her own life, she had needed to find a way to settle her nerves. Only meditation truly did that.

Of course, there was no amount of anything that would get those families through their nightmare and Madge imagined that the whole country was feeling the awfulness. Whatever the wider labels, the bottom line was that it was male violence, yet again, that had ended female lives and this was the true modern day epidemic. There had to be a way forward but Madge felt it really was now time for the men to step up and into the space that women need them to be in. A place of protection from the madness and badness of other men. It was heavy duty thinking on a Tuesday morning when the sun was due to hit 30 degrees but Madge was feeling a need for honesty. Men had much to answer for.

Having got some of the bothering off her chest, Madge resolved to have a gentle day putting together some writing and using A.I. to see if she could create an ebook. She had faith that people could be better versions of themselves but she only had herself to work on so that’s what she would do. Best to look first at oneself before having too much to say about others eh? With the mixed thoughts of a messy land, Madge wished her friends a harmonious day filled with cosmic hugs and big love. The broth was calling and she needed the strength. Hahalala xx