In-between
Summer is fading fast. The pink roses outside my house are wilting. The leaves haven’t yet changed colour but the coolness of autumn is palpable. Late summer at the edge of autumn. A time of transition; neither one thing nor another but somewhere in-between. And I must admit, I find the idea of in-between-ness a fascinating one, not least because it seems to be intertwined with the notion of 
liminality.
According to the dictionary definition, liminality derives from the Latin limen, meaning threshold. It was first referred to in the literature by the French anthropologist Arnold Van Gennep in his book ‘Les Rites de Passage’ where he associated liminality with rites of passage and transitions (King, 2006).
I think it’s particularly interesting that Van Gennep called the ‘inbetween’ phase in his rites of passage marge, because although marge was translated as ‘transition’, it actually means border or edge in French (King 2006). The process of crossing a psychological or physical threshold from one state to another might well be linked to being on the edge or border of a new landscape.
Consequently, transitions are not without risk. The fear that we might lose our sense of self and belonging as we move from one place to another may be a real threat. Does the transitional (liminal) phase inevitably lead to a period of uncertainty and chaos as we become something else?
Personally, I believe transitions can present themselves as opportunity for positive growth as well as a time of potential chaos and uncertainty. In an existential sense, I wonder whether we are always living ‘in-between’ in one way or another, it’s just that we don’t see it at the time perhaps.
As the summer fades, my old life will soon be receeding with the season. In the autumn I’m making changes of my own; going back to university and moving house. At this moment though, I’m enjoying the freedom of these in-between days. Reminds me of a Cure song.
References:
King, Julie (2006) Personal and social transition and the concept of enforced
liminality for Indigenous Australians with adult acquired physical disability. In
Proceedings Social Change in the 21st Century Conference 2006, Queensland
University of Technology.
Gennep, Arnold van. The Rites of Passage. Translated by Monika B. Vizedom and Gabrielle L. Caffee. Chicago, 1960.
