Every now and then one needs to accept the reality and move from the past into the future. Just not too distant future, where the death is.
Exactly for this situation I found a perfect picture I saved to my computer about 3 years ago. My apologies to the author, I have no idea, where I downloaded it from. To his/her satisfaction I admit that I use a lot of other citations if I think I wouldn’t express myself better. This one expresses my current feelings. Thanks.
… what happens to you while you are making other plans. (John Lennon)
Well, this “life” came into my life in the form of Non-Hodgkin’s diffuse B-cell lymphoma, when I was definitely making other plans. I was temporary enjoying living and working in the UK, although my home country is the Czech republic. After the cancer experience I wanted to be as soon as possible back home, where my mum was aging. Actually we were eighty at the same time – or at least I felt eighty in the same year when she was eighty.
It is about seventeen years ago, a period, in which your child can be almost ready to leave home to start his/her own life. A period, in which a lot changed everywhere, not only in my native country.
Although divorced, I don’t understand, why people separate. As parents, as citizens of different nations, as members of different political parties, with different hobbies … you name it. In my humble opinion in the “climate change” era we should try to keep together to be able to resolve related problems together.
There is no winning it the politics. Those, who win the elections should keep in mind, that not everyone voted for them, just a majority of those, who turned up for the elections. Wherever on the planet Earth they are.
Jistě to znáte.
Přemýšlíte, jak se v nějaké situaci rozhodnout, tápete, myslíte nahlas, kladete řečnické otázky, nevyžadující odpověď, ale občas na ně někdo odpoví. To pak přemýšlíte, jestli tím blbem jste vy, protože jste se špatně vyjádřil, nebo ten druhý, když nepochopil, že otázka byla pouze řečnická.
Trvá-li taková konverzace delší dobu, může způsobit ochlazování vztahů, trvá-li několik let, dojde k definitivnímu rozchodu.
Díky / kvůli koronavirové krizi byly po nějakou dobu uzavřené hranice mezi jednotlivými státy. Nemám v úmyslu kritizovat rozhodnutí jednotlivých vlád, jistě nebylo jednoduché se rychle zorientovat v nové situaci. Ve “zpětném zrcátku” však některá rozhodnutí působí chaoticky, nedůvěryhodně či přímo účelově. Vyděšený lid (v kterékoliv zemi) totiž bude rád podporovat kohokoliv, kdo slibuje, že za něj něco vyřeší. Epidemiologii, virologii či jiným vědám rozumí jen v oboru vystudovaní vědci, je tudíž celkem snadné si vymyslet blábol, kterému uvěří dostatečný počet lidí a budou ho bez přemýšlení sdílet na sociálních sítích.
Pokud blábolům uvěříme, je “pozdě bycha honit“, snad se jen můžeme poučit ze své vlastní blbosti, že jsme někomu “skočili na špek“.
Uzavřené hranice v době koronaviru mi velmi silně připomněly dobu před listopadem 1989, kdy jsme se my, z Východu, velmi těžko dostávali na dovolenou na Západ. Snad abychom nechtěli svobodu i u nás, nevím. A pak si většina “účastníků zájezdů” nakupovala “duty-free” zboží, které u nás v té době nebylo – magneťáky, osobní počítače … prostě to, co bylo tehdy “in”. Flašky pro mimina, cvočky nebo přezky si “účastníci školení” vozili z NDR. Někteří občané ČSSR ale taky přes Jugoslávii utíkali za svými nejbližšími, s kterými chtěli sdílet život, a ne každý se chtěl / mohl po sametové revoluci vrátit.
Co tím chci říctt?
Vždycky je nějaká doba, ale dost záleží na tom, v které jsme byli, jsme nebo budeme miminem, dítětem, puberťákem, mladistvým, v produktivním věku či důchodcem. Do určité míry – či spíš do určitého věku – si v současné době můžete vybrat, kde část svého života prožijete. Ale tam, kde se stanete důchodcem, to máte na doživotí. Bylo by fajn, kdyby ta země nebyla vězením jako bylo mé rodné Československo v době mého dětství a mládí.
The restrictions after the crisis are easing and we should take some lessons into the future. Were the restrictions defensible? Was the situation so bad, that some borders needed to be closed? … Of course, being a general after the battle makes it easier to find reasons for “our” solution and doubt the rest of the world.
But we are in the world together! We need to communicate!
Whether we are dealing with corona crisis, a lot of rubbish in the oceans or climate change. We don’t have another planet ti live and while it is still possible to move from one country to another, there is always some price to pay and I don’t mean just money. When you move abroad, your friends and family stay behind. Then when your kids grow up and move out of family home, you stay behind. And whether you want it or not, you may become foreigner even in your homeland. It happened to me after about 20 years living abroad.
Covid-19 emphasized how vulnerable we are.
I live in Europe, in a society where most of our basic needs is satisfied. We are not starving, we are not in a war, but do we need everything? Do we need several types of butter, even more types of bread? It is called “living standards”, but our parents didn’t have that much. They even didn’t have a TV, fridge, dishwasher, probably not an au-pair to be with kids.
Which lessons can we take from the Covid-19 crisis? Should we still flush the toilets by drinking water? Should we allow our countries to be a hostage of a few oligarchs?
We should decide.
Strange times.
Sometimes I feel, that less information could be better than a heap of often contradicting information. Just to have the life in balance, one needs to filter the news. It is not healthy to read only the negative ones, at least I get stressed knowing that I can’t help everyone that is suffering, unjustly pursued, fearing that someone near is going to die or … ???
It seems that the whole world is in the Corona crisis together, but it is not. One’s understanding of the topic very much depends on one’s past experiences, education, occupation and last, but not least, the age and the birth’s place. Just I would not dare to compare and/or confront the (dis)advantages of anyone’s situation. Still a lot of politicians are making decisions for the whole nations without having a clue, what is going on.
Let’s talk for example about the weather – a good starting point for conversation in England – people are used to the climate of their birth’s place … of course unless they are moved elsewhere as babies or toddlers.
But the climate is changing even in my birth’s place in the center of Europe. We used to have proper Winters, I used to ski in the park in Praha, nowadays snow falls only in the mountains and not every year. Well, being older I don’t mind that much, but is it due to the climate change accelerated by human activities? Is it normal?
The Corona crisis could give some answers – or rather the scientists – but will we listen to them? And who are “we” after all?
Knihovna ožívá … změnila jsem otevírací dobu, ale pokud se Vám nehodí, zavolejte a můžeme domluvit jiný termín. Neočekávejte klasickou knihovnu, mohlo by u Vás dojít ke “krizi představ”. V té mé je nejen dovoleno, ale i doporučeno mluvit. Jen diskuse a výměny názorů nás (svět jako celek) mohou posunout někam dál.
The library comes to life … I have changed the opening hours, but if it does not suit you, call and we can arrange another date. Don’t expect a classic library, you could experience a “crisis of expectations”. In mine, it is not only allowed, but also recommended to talk. Only discussions and exchanges of views can move us (the world as a whole) somewhere further.
