Cactus

  • Dates
    2020 - 2021
  • Author
  • Topics Portrait, Contemporary Issues, Documentary

How do 2 cacti hug? Cautiously. How to hug after months of isolation due to lockdown in Greece.

Cactus

How do 2 cacti hug?

Cautiously.

Maybe this is a kind of New Beginning, that we came closer to what’s the essence of life.

That we realized how precious a hug is. Now, that the thorns came out to protect ourselves and – as far as possible, our family and community – now we have to learn to embrace with these.

A new beginning is inherent in the philosophy of nature. During wintertime trees and plants draw the “map” for the next summer, and in the stillness of the dark they prepare the buds, which will break out with the first rain and sun. It is an eternal circle of life, in which we, the humans, by trying to control and to exploit, act with hubris and destroy our roots.

So, what we learned here, during one of the strictest lock-downs, is to keep on living, remembering strategies of survival deep rooted in our communities: That the rules of Nature and the rules of Life are stronger than manmade law, the will to work and create, the urge for dignity and freedom is stronger than police brutality and restrictions. Laughing and dancing, outdoor sports and being in the woods gave many of us strength and health during this time. But we still haven’t buried our dead. We are still afraid in the dark. We are still forbidden to play music in public spaces.

We still are told that the NEW BEGINNING is akin to a start-up business.

Maybe this is the time for beginning to learn to embrace deliberately, respecting our own and the other’s thorns. To protect, to empower and to defend the essence of life and freedom.

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