Another Brick in the Wall

The past few weeks have rendered me exhausted, leaving little room for creative pursuit or inspiration.

A professional transition without pause and its associated plunge into a novel vortex – new people, relationships, systems, and realities to grasp. Information collected and carried like water in cupped hands. Days in the calendar lost to unexpectedly tiring travel; the usually undemanding provincial highways home to a host of hazards. Weather-triggered malfunctions in my vehicle along with ensuing delays to repairs because of lengthy administrative processes. The lack of time, dear reader, the most egregious condition of all. The frozen darkness that has settled by 4pm an unwelcome cloak worn as errands are run.

Trivialities of existence, by themselves manageable. Accumulated, hitting critical mass abnormally quickly in this season of diminished daylight. Justifications, recorded and shared. A crutch relied on as I attempt to regain footing.

Not to worry. Write-ups with a little more substance are on the horizon; how much, I dare not promise. Quantities and qualities inevitably misshapen.

Which brings me to the above song and its resonance. A scene we can all relate to – conditioning of a certain kind as present in traditional classrooms as it is everywhere else. Norms permeating society, habituation instructive and benign until weaponized. Part 2 of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” (audio here) has been a tune oft returned to as the small frustrations with the personal schedule pile up.

A rebel anthem, horror film, and psychedelic vision distilled for the masses.

From the archives, an oldie maintaining relevance. We need to fit into the box, or we need not be.