Christmas carries on from the day itself into St.Stephen's Day for practising Christians, better known to the mainstream culture as Boxing Day, which in 2021 fits neatly into the Monday to Friday working week. This means the only day recently with commitments for a long retired pseuo-philosopher and social activist is Sunday, and the growing Stand in the Park spreading around many countries after a young Australian came up with the idea, being one of many human beings finding World War 3 intolerable, done their research exposing the Great Reset, and decided to Stand in public asking for other Resisters to join him. It took a few weeks for Bradley to stand in his local park for an hour from 10 am, wearing yellow, maybe emulating Les Gilets Jaune of French resisters, well known for their dislike of authority, but the movement gained traction, spread round Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. U.S.A Canada and other places. A website now features lists of new Parks into which a Sunday Stand in the Park enters details, plus all the other things websites do. An idea whose time has come is dangerous to authoritarians, and since this latest attempt to maintain the hegemony of the plutocrats, and enslave the common people employs psychological techniques, through mass hypnotism, and biological weapons instead of missiles and tanks, and since sufficient resisters have understood that violent reactions to violence plays into the plan of the plutocrats, non-violence is the way to make progress. Of course there's a long tradition of this, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, ally of Nelson Mandela, who died yesterday.
After a mild and dry Christmas Day, the forecast was for snow yesterday as a band of cold air moved from East to West, replacing temporarily the South-Easterly. However, the weather was by no means freezing, which has been known to cause the closure of the shorter high route, so it was decided to go for it, which was quite exciting in places, but manageable with care and using the gearbox to slow down and keeping off the brakes as much as possible. The road into Hexham was fairly clear so Daisy and I arrived early with the intention of cracking on with The Light distribution and maintaining the tradition of a presence at the Bandstand. Having twenty five minutes to spare, I went into The Beaumont Hotel for coffee, and since it was breakfast time for the guests this took a while. Emerging now a few minutes late, I found Bill, the Sage who drives over from Whitley Bay every week, and a stranger looking for the Resistance he sought. This was Andy, resident of Amsterdam, staying locally in Riding Mill for the holidays and he was delighted to find the trouble makers and took copies of The Light to take to Amsterdam. He also disclosed he was a childhood friend of a local warrior, well known for demonstrating in London, Newcastle and other places. Then Mary and Keith from Gaia arrived on their way out for a walk, and stopped for conversation.Bill and I agreed to drop their papers through the Gaia shop letter box, plus some for Trish, a hairdresser a few doors along, some of whose customers like news that's not propaganda. Or maybe another kind of propaganda! Before that David had called in and took some papers, then Bill and I sat down for coffee at The Beaumont Hotel, where the breakfast rush was finished and we had a good conversation of a philosophical nature.
After this we parted and Daisy and I headed off to see Lynne, who liked a few papers and always enjoys the company of the blogger, which is mutual. The drive home was easy, as a thaw has set in, and it was time to sit and reflect on the day, do some writing on messenger and other FB platforms and read The Matter With Things for a while, before deciding to walk before darkness arrived. Returning I found my neighbour at no.8 in, and having missed him yesterday knocked his door. He invited me in and we had philosophy which went deep, since he studied Theology at Duham Universty and became a vicar. Later he gave it up and threw the baby out with the bathwater, becoming an atheist instead, a subject we'd discussed many times over the years. Yesterday he disclosed he was considering being a vicar again, though he thought it best to move forward not back and was attending a High Church in Leeds where an Anglican sister of his sang in the choir. Though just once a month for the time being.
Now it's Monday, it probably has a name for practising Christians, but for your blogger, dear readers, it's a day of nothingness. Was there ever a day when any human being did nothing? As long as we're actually living how it that possible? The Monday to Friday between Christmas Day and New Year's Day has its own quality, when children are into their second week, parents are trying to amuse them or supervise them, maybe educate them even. Schools have similar functions and this old anti-authority old blogger was never keen on organised schooling,religion or anything, after the early years, when things got serious. As the divorced father of two daughters, living back in the Southern lands of the Hampshire and Dorset border, childcare was not an obligation, but a pleasure, and no job got in the way of it. Their Mother loved Christmas with her extended family in North-East England, and also having her own time afterwards, including New Year's Eve. So that was the agreement for the younger days of the daughters, and Christmas never my thing. That time between the two was precious, and today now that they're in their 30s still is.
It's nearly 6 a.m. and this blog is nearly ready to be posted, after starting at 3.30. The Matter With Things needs reading, walking of course in the programme, after that the day unfolds, which is how it should be. This day of nothingness is full of potential and everything is possible, some more probable than others, which is basic philosophy and quantum physics, or common sense perhaps? The point is, as often repeated in Wear and Dao, to be useful in the world whilst we're here in human form and practise the ancient wisdom, which is non-duality, Oneness, Love ...
Happy Nothingness Day!
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