Force Majeure
Lately, I’ve been struggling with the idea that I’m not entirely responsible for my stagnation. There are real conditions at play, after all—fatigue, weather, job loss—and for a time, those conditions are legitimate. But reasons have a shelf life, and before long they quietly rot into excuses.
In today’s image, the snowfall can be read as a force majeure: an external event that suspends obligation. Responsibility dissolves, and no one is at fault.
In the presence of the snow, the stop sign takes on an entirely new meaning. If we think of the sign as having been planted after the snow accumulated, it seems to be commanding us to remain sheltered until fairer weather returns. The question, then, is not whether the stagnation is justified, but for how long?
