Saturday 6 October 2018

I'VE BEEN AWAY!



I have certainly been away. Hence the big gap between my talking to you. In my instance it's been a happy 'away'. I was on a holiday where I vowed not to use technology unless it was absolutely, unquestioningly, desperately, needed, as opposed to wanted. So, no facebook, blogsite or other time consuming social media, for a whole four months. This could be considered as  social media suicide but I needed to test it. I needed the clear space in my head to think of nothing more than my own new daily experiences.. Using my smart phone only for important phone calls or bookings of space I found much more time to do other things. Things like visiting family, viewing landscapes frequently simply whizzed past in a vehicle. Things like strolling over fields, staring up at massive ancient trees, sometimes flinging my arms around them, or as far as I could reach and remembering that I am a part of Nature. Time to climb hills and view the vast array of natural wonders, whether in the rain or in the warming sunshine. Things like struggling up the dozens of  stone steps worn away by thousands of feet over centuries, steps leading to towers, battlements and lookouts. Treading the stone floors of aristocratic mansions, of Bishop Palaces, of Cathedrals, of University Halls, of centuries old libraries and old churches and fortresses and castles. Yes,you got it. I've been away in the UK. Travelling to places not visited before. Walking up the couple of dozen winding steps up to my wooden seat in The Globe, was an absolute highlight. Watching a fabulous performance of Othello, one of Shakespeare's best plays, I think, in the same kind of space that patrons would have seen it in Shakespeare's time. Amazing to consider! We all laughed or sobbed or groaned at the famous words, just as people did four hundred years ago. Probably in the exact same places too. My brain was certainly away  into the realm of awe and wonder. I could easily have been described as being away with the fairies! The skill of such a playwright makes me gulp with astonishment. What a psychologist William Shakespeare was. His assessment of human nature is totally relevant today.

Thinking of having been away makes me recall when as a young girl I would hear adults whispering about someone who had been away. I was ten before I understood that this meant the person had been in prison. As I grew older some people who had been away were spoken of with envy.  This meant they were lucky enough to travel overseas,which in the late nineteen fifties/early sixties was a new thing for the English working class. How things change. Ensuring people are away from stress and depression is now what is needed to be worked on. Perhaps if we all occasionally spent time away from our daily work and worries and even away from the constant demands of family and friends to simply contemplate the wonders of this earth, or the pleasure of creative activities, this would aid in this health problem. Being away from our normal lives for just a short time can sometimes be as refreshing as a long trip away.

Anyway, now that I am back I trust you will continue to read what I write. Love to hear from you.

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