Click here to listen to my ‘Thought for the Day’ on BBC Radio Ulster.
I’m scheduled for further contributions, on the next three Tuesdays.
You can read the text of today’s contribution below.
‘Going anywhere nice on your holidays?’
It’s a question we’ve asked, and been asked, countless times: as an innocent conversation starter with a neighbour on the street, or as the hairdresser combs and snips.
But this year, as we face into the peak holiday season with much of our lives still confined to our own four walls, it’s the wrong question.
Employers have sent terse emails, warning us that we must take some summer holidays now. They are concerned for our mental health and well-being, to be sure. They also want to avoid a scenario where everyone delays their holidays, then rushes off to foreign climes (or even just Donegal) when travel restrictions are lifted further, leaving workplaces empty.
Frontline workers, who daily bear witness to the human suffering that those of us working from home consume on our computer screens, may feel guilty even contemplating holidays.
And spare a thought for the children. The end of June once meant release from the daily routine of school, a whole summer of freedom stretching before them. Now it must seem like July and August will only look slightly different from March, April, May and June.
But if we return to the original meaning of a holiday, we can salvage something from this strangest of summers.
The word ‘holiday’ derives from the Old English haligdeag, which literally means ‘holy day’.
The simple meaning of the word holy is ‘set apart’. A holiday is a day or a period of time set apart for something different. It isn’t defined by where you are going. It’s defined by how you are spending your time.
In these strange times, all days seem the same and blend into the next. There is wisdom in recognizing some of our days need to be different.
We won’t travel as far on our holidays this year, and we will be restricted in what we can do once we get there. So let’s ask each other how we can set aside time for something different, right where we are right now.