Different context, obviously, but equally applicable... let’s recall the words of Nelson Mandela: “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
or two years we have all lived off a very limited menu. Pubs, restaurants, hotels, schools, shops, even place of work, have all, at one stage or another, been closed to us.
And while the message from the NI Executive isn’t that everything is back for us to feast on, there’s going to be much more choice in the weeks ahead.
But eat too much after a period of starvation and the tummy ache will come. Temptation to break the shackles will be there, but no-one needs to be a glutton.
Roald Dahl warned us in a not so subtle way in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Case study: Augustus Gloop.
All the evidence we’re being presented with shows that now is probably the best time for life to edge back towards the normal we remember in the distant past.
But there will be hope that the last two years has taught us all not to play fast and loose with our freedoms.
In making the decision to ease restrictions across hospitality, the limits on households meeting, the ending of the requirement to use a Covid passport when heading on a night out or going for a meal, a lot of trust is being placed in the people of Northern Ireland, a trust some of those in power could have done a much better job of upholding.
Across the business community there will be a sigh of relief as they can breathe again, but it’s up to all of us to help them further along the road to recovery.
First Minister Paul Givan described the changes as a “step in the right direction” and said they reflected the changing circumstances in Northern Ireland.
Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill said it was “clear we were past the peak”.
We have heard those sentiments before, only to end up right back where we started.
We are learning all the time on how to live through the pandemic but the road of knowledge hasn’t been a smooth one.
There’s always the danger of more bumps further down the path, but by easing our way back into a world with less constraints on our everyday lives we can flatten those bumps and make things easier on ourselves.
While we’re not 100% free to do what we want, we’re a lot closer than we were — but don’t go removing those Covid passports from your phone just yet.