Sunny days and sadnesses
It was a sunny morning after the wind and showers of the past days and Madge was soothed by the sunlight. April showers. They came every year and every year, people seemed surprised. It was one of the oddities about Britain she thought. We have changeable weather and yet, we always seem so surprised by it that we will actually talk to strangers about it. “What’s going on with this weather eh?” “I know. It needs to make its mind up doesn’t it? “ Eyeballs would roll conspiratorially or in exasperation and Madge smiled as she thought about how many times this was repeated throughout the day.
Her own day ahead was looking very pleasant. They were off to Devon for the monthly trip where one woman would work all weekend and the other would roam the roads and speak to strangers. It was a long stablished pattern now and it was comforting to know that once a month, they got out of the city. The city that had always been home and was feeling increasingly like something out of a film. She wasn’t sure what film but it was different every day. Mass developments that seemed to miss the irony of not being developed at all. She stopped herself. Too early to moan about beige blocks.
Instead, she let her mind turn to easier things. ‘Now is now’ seemed to have struck a chord with a number of her friends and she was glad to hear from those who had time and inclination to respond to the random writings in their in boxes. It felt ever more important to keep connected and make conscious choices because although she had managed to swerve the headlines for a few days, she knew that the drums of war were being sounded and this couldn’t be ignored. She hadn’t really thought she would see these times in her lifetime and she knew that all of life could change in a heartbeat but it was the big changes that had led, she thought, to so much of the distress people were feeling.
Feeling. Could we really bare to feel it all she wondered? It was too much to expect each person to manage themselves alone as if they were the problem when the systems themselves were collapsing. Late stage capitalism in a Neo liberal world had really messed things up thought Madge. It was hardly a considered political perspective, but rather, a summary of what she could see. People trying to make sense of a world that didn’t make sense and then feeling like they were the mad ones. It didn’t seem right.
What was right she wondered? What was the right way to live in these times where so much was being asked of people? It was tricky because a positive mindset made a huge difference but one couldn’t expect people to feel positive about things that were so clearly not ok. So how to manage the madness and stay balanced was the key question for Madge this morning. She was feeling rested, which was a rarity in itself and this was the key for her. To have rest enabled resilience and this was what was most needed she thought.
The constant narratives about the cost of living being a crisis had, she felt, added to a sense of people’s constant distress. As if poor people were causing a crisis, somehow, taking from others who needed it more. It was a nonsense of course because there was enough for everyone if people would share and that was the problem. A small group had taken all the money and now everyone was being made into peasants. Less than 200 billionaires in the world and look at the state of it. She rolled her eyes to herself. She wished her Nan was here. She would have said quite simply, “ they must share darling. Then there will be enough.”
Her Nan had always been of the view that sharing was the answer. Whether a problem, a sandwich or a win at bingo, she would always share. “We’ll go havers”,” she would say and Madge felt her heart warm as she recalled the tiny woman who had taught her so much.
Imagine if the world could ‘go halvers’ she thought. Was that how to spell halvers? It was a word only her nan had used and with her anglo-Indian accent it had always been easy to say but Madge hadn’t tried to spell it before. It didn’t matter. The point was for everyone about everything. If we share, everything is better. She was glad to share her morning thoughts, glad to hear from her friends, glad to be able to ‘go halvers’ with pretty much most of what she had. Gladness against the sadness. Cosmic hugs and hahalala wishes sent out, she flicked the switch, eyed the broth and gave thanks for life. Big love. xx