Freedom of Movement, Self Containment: The Villagers

Recurrent Deterrents: Before carrying on here about the art and the science, the psychological and sociological, the explicit and implicit, the...all the parts of communication, I felt temporarily pulled in another direction...the In's and the Out's of US being...shut In or shut Out...here and there...by external, but more often (in my vast experience, taking just the last 24 months as a sample), INternal forces...OURSELVES! Yes, while WE, throughout the U.S. can relate to our neighbors near and far, throughout our whole world, the frustrations associated with restricted movement. Restrictions that are nothing new, have been recurrent throughout the ages...as well as those where we are forced OUT, made to leave our homes, such as in the case of fires or other natural disasters affecting our locale, as well as those that are not so natural, but more MAN made (yes, accent here on MAN), such as wars, which frequently spawn not only desperados, but desperation, and diasporas. Refugees. Nomads. Itinerants. Words we have heard more in certain areas of the world over the past few decades than others, whereas we can ALL relate to the vocab of this pandemic, those of "Shut-downs" (being shut OUT of restaurants, theatres, gyms, etc., etc.), "quarantine", "stay-at-home", "shut-IN". OKAY, so there's been more times than the average for most of US for both of these to occur, I won't bother to ask which is more. What I am engaging you with here is simply a reflection, once again, in going beyond the obvious, extending your boundaries of thought and, hopefully, in turn, ACTION!

FOBLO...HI: Opposite signs of the coin or more aptly put here for our present circumstances, either side of the door. Or, for many of us, getting stuck in what is experienced as a perpetual revolving door. That is, from Fear, or Feeling Left Out, finding yourself on the outside looking in, forlorn, a least a bit lonely, out of the game in which you want IN! Or, on the other hand, you find yourself "Hemmed In", 'fit to be tied', at least figuratively, ready to bust out, this time looking out the window at a game in which you want in, but first have to find a way OUT! In either case, there are certainly circumstances beyond your control determining at least part of your current dire, undesired circumstances. And, of course, there are many of us who have been alternating between these, as if stuck in the noted revolving door (better than a stalled elevator, I suppose?). In other words, we've all experienced a degree of decline in opportunity, contact, either by being shut out/in, factors that have challenged us all, to find other ways to engage, compensate. So that we don't feel the effects of...

Limiting Factors: Simply put, factors that limit our experience or outcome in any particular situation. In my world, they can be simply categorized as those that are external in 'nature' (sometimes literally, such as extreme weather), or internal (how we internalize factors that might actually start out as external factors but become part of our 'mindset') -- the latter perhaps best represented by one of my favorite quotes: "I've met the enemy; it's ME!" Yep, we're frequently our own worst enemy, at least we limit ourselves more than the current circumstances dictate to us. The ongoing example that I started sharing with you the other day has to do with an 'experiment' I have launched way into the pandemic...I already shared with you repeatedly that we are only limited by our willingness to be active and use our imaginations, to get just the same amount of rigorous physical activity after being shut out of the gyms, etc. (see "pandemic playgrounds", etc. about a year ago here) and now, after six consecutive evenings, walking about town, different routes, about two miles each, about 35" each, I have now come across exactly three people (so that's .5 a night if I've done my math right)...absent any precipitation and absent any authorities with a megaphone telling us to stay inside. Instead, I guess, they'll have to start coming around and remind us it's ok to go out. I can hardly contain myself. So, what's limiting you, are they real external factors, or those we are ourselves creating, as if we are in...

"The Village" The movie version, depicting how, right in the midst of a contemporary neighborhood, a group of 'elders' were able to create an illusion it was dangerous for them to go beyond a certain boundary, better to stay hemmed in, stay safe...as opposed to the real life version of "The Villages" -- a 'census designated community', one which, at first glance, appears to shut out youngsters and where otherwise their elders are 'shut it'. But first appearances can be deceptive based, at least, through the eyes of one grandson, prepping to visit, conveyed to me: "Doc, you should see them, the photos they've sent me, partying in the streets...man, I don't know if I can keep up with them!". So much for being hemmed in. Don't be self-contained; stop containing yourself.