Integration and Separation

Integration and Separation

Steph & Garry in carrerot

Steph & Garry in carrerot

There is a sense of going back in time when you travel through France. Around every corner is another story of hundreds of years gone by. Chateaux, turrets, churches, dovecotes, and other historic icons are just some of the sites that tell a story of peoples’ lives long ago.

Spending time in a bastide town, it is easy to imagine how life in medieval times might have been, with the cobble stone narrow roads and carrerots thatconnect various parts of the town, the rock buildings and walls, and the markets that are part of the peoples’ activities.

Rather than feeling as though you are in a museum, spending time in the bastide town of Monflanquin in the south of France, is an experience of living history, where interest abounds in community relationships, such as the daily greeting and conversations, the exchange of vegetables and meals, and the pursuit of interesting pastimes.

The old and the new, Monflanquin, France

The old and the new, Monflanquin, France

Included in the bastide experience is the magnificent French cuisine provided in homes and town restaurants. Overall there is a blend of the old and the new that is integrated, seamlessly in many cases.

It is a fact that we will always live with the old and the new, be it with buildings and construction, people in community, or experiences in our lives.

Market day in the town

Market day in the town

It seems that we get into strife when we segregate:- the ancient from the modern; the old from the new; the young from the elderly; the rich from the poor. When we segregate, we separate, and create splits and barriers that are hard to cross.

We tend to become aligned with a particular side of the fence, and the barrier becomes more rigid, and the two sides become even more separate and disjointed.

It is the same with our own lives – we commonly disconnect from the experiences we wish we had never had, and want to keep only the good ones. But if we cut off any part of ourselves, we can feel disjointed and unsure of ourselves, and annoyed when we realise that we have not been successful in its removal.

Mural on town wall, Monflanquin

Mural on town wall, Monflanquin

Though difficult, it would seem that if we could live in a more integrated way in the many aspects of our lives and our world, we may experience more blending and harmony,
such as can be sensed in some of the ancient/modern towns. What a challenge!

About Margaret Lambert

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Comments

  1. Beautiful Marg…what wonderful comparisons between what your seeing and the realities of life. Fascinating reading. Keep having fun:)

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