Observation from the Aerie 17/10

Tonight I stood on the back balcony and saw several other women doing the same - community. 

I was glad to feel connected. I can see life returning to the apartment blocks surrounding us after a short hiatus, but truth be told, as much as I love the silence when mass exodus occurs and residents retreat to the provinces for festival time with family, it’s the returning to life that fills me with joy: the reinstating of the norm. 

An agitated teenage girl standing on the narrow ledge of the back balcony, staring into the closed shutters of home, after her mother had tried to calm her down and then closed the door to give her solitude, a sarong wrapped young mum with wet hair hanging out a towel with a crying child at the doorway, a gran still rocking in the hammock, a housewife glancing skyward as she brings in the laundry! Me too. I just did that. No monsoon storms tonight. 

Standing in shared space, acknowledging each other’s presence with nods and smiles, thinking, ‘This is a privilege!’ 

“I hear and I know, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.” I always thought it was Piaget but Google tells me it was Confucius. 

Rent is unaffordable in many places around the globe. Homelessness is on the increase right now. Humanity is turning on itself and discontent is at an all-time high it seems sometimes, but to simplify, actually helps. Look for the harmony, the humanity, the connectivity.