NEW DIRECTION

🎭. NEW DIRECTION Ed. No. 26 / ON A NEW DIRECTION ➃

“Be brave. UNMASK”

…ON OXFORD ST. (A POP UP EXHIBITION)

Let the Sunshine in Pierrot

Visiting my Mother's Aged Care Village the other day I passed one of the residents who is 93 years of age. This lady is for her years in pretty good shape. She walks every day and eats well. And while she has a degree of Dementia remains quite lucid, intelligent, and relatively cogniscent. Her presentation reflects someone who in most ways is still a participating member of our humanity.

But she said to me "I'll just be glad when it's over. I've had enough".

And I felt sad hearing that this lady has walked much of her path and not found the answer for what she is looking for.

No more than an hour later I was back in the City and turning the corner to enter my Lane.

I came across a neighbourhood couple who regularly walk our laneway with their toddler.

This child is now starting to speak.

And she joyously sang out loud the word 'mask'.
I had a surgical mask on and truly the wonder, awe and curiosity in that child's face was something to witness. Those eyes were just full of openness and eager to receive everything that life had to offer.

I just spontaneously said to her parents pointing to the baby.... "The teachers".
The young ones know what we have forgotten.

If only we could observe them, get all of our thinking out of the way, and learn.

The mask I was wearing was three fold…cap, sunglasses as well as the surgical mask.

I was buried inside unrecognisable. The Covid shutdown has done that to us.

Too many have recoiled into incognito masks hiding ourselves away from what can be at times quite a confronting jungle of a world. This doesn't bode well for us facing our future.

And you don't even need to wear a mask to be wearing a mask.

Just like that small child's openness we need to be encouraged to embrace the great mystery of what we don't understand about ourselves and the world around us.

Be brave. 👺UNMASK. - Neville