Blog
A Paved Road
Normality. The 'new normal.' A return to normal. Doing 'normal things.' Feeling normal again.
These are all phrases that I've heard frequently recently, and of course I've joined with the rest of the country in welcoming the lifting of restrictions lately and into the future.
And then I came across this quote from Vincent Van Gogh:
Normality is a paved road: it's comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it.
I'm not sure that I entirely agree with Van Gogh in our current context! On our 'normal road; before we knew about the Coronavirus, I think the flowers were there, but we didn't always take the time or trouble to look for them; they were there as little day-to-day pleasures that we perhaps noticed less and less with each passing day.
Straying onto the uneven, rocky and seemingly impassable terrain through the pandemic has, I think, given us a new frame of reference. Perhaps a magnifying glass through which to appreciate the tiniest of daisies, the smallest blossoms and the most minuscule of buds.
I hope we don’t forget to look for them once a few months have elapsed.
