LIFE IN THE LOOP

„The views from the gallery of the narthex of the Church of the Holy Saviour do not reach only toward the four points of the compass; they also extend in all four principal directions of time,“ Sava said to the newly ordained abbot of the Monastery of Žiča. „Whenever I am absent from my chamber, I want you each day to look out through one of the windows and, according to what you see, decide what is best for the brotherhood and for our people. I trust you will not lose your bearings. Otherwise, may the Lord have mercy upon us—our paths will be tied into a knot that not even the hundredth generation from this place will be able to untangle.“

Goran Petrović, The Siege of the Church of the Holy Saviour

Dear Iljir,

You write that Kosovo is caught in a political loop – that political processes lead nowhere, that people are losing faith and can no longer see an alternative. You write about Kosovo, yet it is difficult not to read your words as a description of our entire region.

A year and a half ago, the student movement in Serbia rekindled hope for a better tomorrow. Both of us rejoiced in that moment. Far beyond our part of the world, people recognised that ray of freedom and purpose, hoping it would grow into the light in which we would soon be living.

Time only appears to flow evenly. In reality, there are times when time itself grows dense, and its seconds and hours build an impenetrable wall. At other times, its beats drift so far apart that an eternity seems to fit within a single day. Such were the days when students marched across Serbia. At moments like these, time opens a passage that allows us to step out of its worn track and into a different future.

That moment – the ancient Greeks called it Kairos – must be recognised and seized. Move too early and you will crash into a wall, only to find yourself back in the loop, bloodied. Wait too long, and the outcome is the same – the passage closes, and the loop begins to turn once again.

Whether the student movement has missed that rare window in time, through which everything can change, the loop can be broken, and the road to something new and better can finally open, is a question that weighs heavily on many people in Serbia.

We understood the months of „silence“ as a period of preparation for metamorphosis, an inner transformation before a beautiful, colourful, free butterfly spread its wings over the political landscape and became a tangible political force capable of changing reality. We expected people and a programme worthy of our newly awakened hopes and of the very best within us. Many of us, myself included, deliberately stepped aside so that we would not stand in the way, even unintentionally.

I want to believe that those who now present themselves – mostly on their own initiative – as those very people are either opportunists seeking to profit in muddy waters or merely a false sign before the real revelation.

I want to believe that we have not yet lost our bearings, that the window of time has not yet closed, and that our paths have not yet been tied into a knot. Otherwise, the loop will close once again, and time will move on without us.

Sincerely,

Saša