urban strolling May 2020 in Paris, France
imperceptibly, we have adopted subtle avoidance modes
this recently acquired conditioning makes us look a little stiffer and our gait more hesitant and almost floating at times, we are on alert as soon as we sense a human presence nearby
over a few weeks, the discreet and effective standardisation of human behaviours has deprived us from our unique gait along with your freedom of movement
the pace of our steps has changed as well, obviously. There is less haste and momentum, we can feel a precaution in being there and also that a particular attention is given to these precious moments of freedom, except when are people so numbed that they move about like zombies
the movements of pedestrians follow strange trajectories with slight deviations, as though people were repelling each other, when they move towards one another or when passing somebody
queues create surreal ribbons of separate entities turned in on themselves and like compartmented in (un)avoidable defiance
distanciation marks up and moderates the use of communal space and makes the natural breath of encounters and playing (coming together- exchanging- moving apart) uncertain, even unlikely
when several people meet, they tend to hold their breath (not a great way of sharing) and if somebody inadvertently breaks in the invisible circle of protection and gets too close, the person intruded into tends to step backwards. Only children constantly step out of the mould, at least those too young to have internalised the norm yet
wearing a mask rather systematically adds to these stiff patterns, so we are left with attempting to make occasional eye contact to capture the facial expression of a living being
but people look down more than usually due to a certain restraint, as if the alienation wasn’t powerful enough
the overall picture remains relatively fluid, but the choreography is not convincing, it doesn’t resonate with us !
but since the masked ball and the uniformity required by the staging are going to last for a while, we have to come together differently, we want it and we deeply need it
we must support each other and find other ways of being together sensorily and emotionally
- taking care or our heart and nurturing it
- letting our movements, intentions and action be birthed in our heart
- allowing/inviting/daring to express ourselves thought our heart
- creating all things from our heart
are a few possible directions for us to explore
this is our freedom and birth right, which nothing and no one can limit, rule or abolish
in this context telepathy makes perfect sense
you have familiarised yourself with the tool already, so go ahead, use it !
we can go over all restrictions endured, of course, and re-establish tangible and satisfying human relationships through the invisible network of the heart which unites all beings
