Today, 17th May, lockdown restrictions are easing. We can meet indoors in homes, cafes and pubs, students don’t have to wear masks, we can hug each other…
A man walking on Pakefield Beach found an old bottle and thought nothing of it. He took it home, opened it and out came a genie who granted him three wishes.
‘I wish for a million pounds,’ he said. Three suitcases dropped at his feet filled with £20 notes.
‘I wish for a Ferrari,’ he said. A bright red Ferrari appeared outside his house.
‘I wish to be irresistible to women,’ he said. He turned into a box of chocolates.
Many people have been looking forward to today for weeks. Family celebrations and meals out have been planned; holidays and visits are eagerly anticipated. Cinemas, theatres, football crowds, churches, music festivals will be returning to ‘normal’.
People have been asked ‘What are you looking forward to most?’ – as if their genie has granted them three wishes. Greater freedom and the success of the covid immunisation programme has brought cautious hope; the box of chocolates, saved for today, is being opened!
There are many things that today’s greater freedom won’t fix… the life-limiting illness, the past regret, the redundancy, the destructive relationship…
The future still remains uncertain… Forest Gump’s Mum was right in saying that ‘Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.’
…Musing on St Paul’s faith and words: ‘I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want.’
I’m looking forward to the coming weeks – a family meal, a theatre trip, church rediscovering ‘normal’…
If things don’t work out as I hope, if my chocolates get muddled or I get one I don’t like, I’ll seek Paul’s ‘content in every situation’ and try not to get my snickers in a twix.
malcolmsmusings.org 