Summer at Last
It was the first Monday of the school holidays and although she was no longer connected with schools, Madge was still aware of the rhythm. The traffic would be quieter for a few weeks, there would be more children in the market hall and hopefully there would be a general air of school’s out. There was a definite semblance of sun predicted for the next few days and after a sunny weekend that had meant a bit of tidying in the garden, Madge was feeling that it might be a good summer. Or at least, a good day. Important not to go too far ahead.
She was also feeling perturbed by the weekend’s events in London. She’d made the decision to follow what was going on with the Unite the Kingdom gathering in central London. On the face of things, it looked like reasonable people who wanted ‘their country back’ and Madge was prepared to hear what was really being said. From the bits she followed, she was alarmed. Thousands of people marching and shouting about another group of people and what they could do with their own religion was, quite frankly, alarming and Madge was concerned that the voices were being ignored at our peril.
Who did she mean by ‘our’? Well, she meant everyone really because the rise in hatred and extremism could not be kept separate from its impact on the wider world. Madge had watched people being asked why they were following a person who had such strong views about who should be allowed to be in the country and what struck her most was the sense of being failed by politicians and feeling like no one else was listening. Dangerous.
She hadn’t intended to wake up and write about dangerous mindsets but she had been so bothered by just how easily some people would be influenced because they themselves felt voiceless. It was nothing new of course and perhaps there were people in her own social group who would think that these were reasonable views. She hoped not.
It felt to Madge that in the face of such challenges and divisions, it was going to be more important than ever to strengthen one’s mind and open one’s heart. Blanket hatred was going to get us nowhere and she found herself wanting to speak to the people that she didn’t know to find out if they really were that full of hatred and anger. She wasn’t sure what she would actually say but she was becoming increasingly clear in herself that these were the spiritual challenges of our times. To not believe the hatred and to not be cowed in fear. Hmm, you don’t sound very summery Madge she thought to herself. Time to change it up and think of other things.
There were many good things to think about amongst the grimness and a sunny start was one of them. She’d already been out into the garden, scowled at a cat that was looking threateningly at a bird, picked a couple of slugs off a plant and thought about whether to put a white wash on. It looked to be a good washing day. She had a brand new car to play out in and this was like having fresh legs. Her own legs were doing quite well, she had a couple of errands to do and no need to make dinner because the weekend’s leftovers would make a good Monday meal. There was something satisfying about old fashioned housewifery. Madge thought she was quite good at it after all these years at home.
Madge hadn’t expected to enjoy such simplicities when she was younger. Domestics always seemed dull and there were always more exciting things to imagine were taking place. It had contributed to what was now called FOMO…fear of missing out… and this was something Madge had certainly felt when she was growing up. It’s an odd thing isn’t it she thought. To be so fixed on what you might be missing that you miss what you are actually doing. You miss being present when you think you want to be somewhere else.
These days, perhaps because she had to concentrate on each step in order not to fall over, she was far more present than she’d ever been. Aware of what was around her, aware of her thoughts. Aware of when those thoughts began to spin and needed to be brought back to what matters. It mattered to Madge that she understood people and why they were the way they were. Not the smoothest of sentences but she figured friends would know what she meant.
A weekend of being with real people and reading about people she’d never met didn’t do anything to separate her thoughts but rather, got her to thinking about just how much all of us had been manipulated by media, politics and global corporations. Madge refused to write people off as idiots and she was glad of this but she also had to admit that some people had her baffled. Perhaps that would be the focus of her day. Sitting in the silence of the sunshine and hoping that somehow, sense would prevail. Would she watch any of the olympics? She thought not. Nothing had compared to the sense of optimism and pride she had felt in the UK in 2012 and so she’d look for other places to focus her energy.
The sun was definitely out, the kids were off school and her own beloved would soon be finished for the summer. There was a trip to Norfolk to look forward to, a friend coming for the weekend and myriad mini adventures lined up in the new, big black car. Perturbations aside, it was the hahalala mindset that would override all else and with that sense of relief that she was back in writing mode, Madge sent out cosmic hugs and heaps of love to her beautiful friends. Have a lovely day. Hahalala. xx