Waving the flag of humanity
I've just tried some of that pearl enriched dedorant - supposed to transform your armpits into things of beauty beyond compare. Call me a skeptic, but I'm not convinced that it works. Certainly I haven't noticed a hunk from the other side of the room mesmerised by the gorgeousness of my pits. Disappointing. But I guess pearls belong in oysters - and you don't hear people saying 'the world is your armpit', now do you.
I received said deodorant as part of the goodie bag that we 10 000 London ladies were given this morning after completing the 5km Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research UK. As you may know, though i have been known to run a few kilometres here and there, the thought of a race generally fills me with dread. Yet alighting from the tube at Farringdon this morning to find myself bouyed along a sea of pink, the little flutterbies of delicious energy were awakened and I remembered, as I always do, just how much I enjoy taking part in events like this. Part of the attraction I think is the sense of community that one experiences. Most of us live such fast-paced and fairly selfish lives and the concept of community has become so diluted. But when you're out there, just you and the 10 000, all from different walks of life but drawn together for a common cause, you can't help but feel good. And of course it was sunny! Yes, sunny on a Sunday in London! St Pauls seemed to gleam against the blue sky and churches across the city were ding-donging their bells in celebration.
What made this particular race so moving though - if you'll excuse the pun - was the focus on people. Real people who have suffered through cancer. It was hard not to get emotional when reading the dedications so lovingly pinned to the backs of each runner. "For my nan"; "For my beautiful mum, proud on her cloud"; "For my daughter, my husband and my best friend". That's a lot to take in in so few simply put words. And seeing a mother and daughter walking hand in hand in memory of their mother and grandmother, well, it was as tender a scene as I have ever seen in a crowd.
Watching it all from a little introspective part of myself I marvelled at the fact that even those who had no one person in mind to run for, had turned up to lend their support to the fight against cancer. It struck me because over the past year I have felt overwhelmed by my growing sense of social awareness. I have never thought of myself as a campaigner, never felt driven enough by any one cause to get out there and show it, and yet I find myself in a space and time where given the opportunity to 'give it all up' and fight for a cause, stick up for the world and its people, I would probably do it. The fact that over 1 million women around the country went out today to run for Cancer Research UK makes me thinnk that this is an increasing phenomenon.
Which brings me back around to community.
Could it be that community, being no longer so much a geographic or even cultural concept, is re-emerging as a social animal? Is the social cause the new community? The world is a small place, after all and traditional social groups are now spread across the planet - I only have to look at my own family and friends, scattered across Africa, the antipodes and the UK to know that this is true. We're people, we need to belong to things. Most people will now recognise the African word Ubuntu, but take the full Zulu maxim "umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu" and you'll learn that "a person is a person because of other people".
The world is a tragically wonderful place but to survive it and smile I guess we need other people. And a flag to wave.
I received said deodorant as part of the goodie bag that we 10 000 London ladies were given this morning after completing the 5km Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research UK. As you may know, though i have been known to run a few kilometres here and there, the thought of a race generally fills me with dread. Yet alighting from the tube at Farringdon this morning to find myself bouyed along a sea of pink, the little flutterbies of delicious energy were awakened and I remembered, as I always do, just how much I enjoy taking part in events like this. Part of the attraction I think is the sense of community that one experiences. Most of us live such fast-paced and fairly selfish lives and the concept of community has become so diluted. But when you're out there, just you and the 10 000, all from different walks of life but drawn together for a common cause, you can't help but feel good. And of course it was sunny! Yes, sunny on a Sunday in London! St Pauls seemed to gleam against the blue sky and churches across the city were ding-donging their bells in celebration.
What made this particular race so moving though - if you'll excuse the pun - was the focus on people. Real people who have suffered through cancer. It was hard not to get emotional when reading the dedications so lovingly pinned to the backs of each runner. "For my nan"; "For my beautiful mum, proud on her cloud"; "For my daughter, my husband and my best friend". That's a lot to take in in so few simply put words. And seeing a mother and daughter walking hand in hand in memory of their mother and grandmother, well, it was as tender a scene as I have ever seen in a crowd.
Watching it all from a little introspective part of myself I marvelled at the fact that even those who had no one person in mind to run for, had turned up to lend their support to the fight against cancer. It struck me because over the past year I have felt overwhelmed by my growing sense of social awareness. I have never thought of myself as a campaigner, never felt driven enough by any one cause to get out there and show it, and yet I find myself in a space and time where given the opportunity to 'give it all up' and fight for a cause, stick up for the world and its people, I would probably do it. The fact that over 1 million women around the country went out today to run for Cancer Research UK makes me thinnk that this is an increasing phenomenon.
Which brings me back around to community.
Could it be that community, being no longer so much a geographic or even cultural concept, is re-emerging as a social animal? Is the social cause the new community? The world is a small place, after all and traditional social groups are now spread across the planet - I only have to look at my own family and friends, scattered across Africa, the antipodes and the UK to know that this is true. We're people, we need to belong to things. Most people will now recognise the African word Ubuntu, but take the full Zulu maxim "umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu" and you'll learn that "a person is a person because of other people".
The world is a tragically wonderful place but to survive it and smile I guess we need other people. And a flag to wave.
posted by Jen Smit at 3:51 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home