Sometimes sleep is as satisfying as a good meal or a fine wine; you wake up feeling amazingly replete, especially if you’ve had a deep and satisfying dream. Such was last night for me – I feel great this morning, though I’m sure it won’t prevent me from feeling tired later. Beetleypete was recently complaining about constant fatigue too, and I’m wondering if it isn’t something other than just ageing (we’re both of a similar age). I’m wondering if it isn’t the state of the world causing us constant anxiety; what with Covid which has threatened us for over a year now and the impending disaster of climate change, not to mention having the worst government in living memory (yes I think they are actually worse than Thatcher’s lot; I loathed her but at least she had some principles) – I’m wondering whether all this isn’t conspiring to sap our collective energy and make us continually tired.
There have been many worse periods in history: consider the aftermath of the First World War when an exhausted and decimated population was ravaged by the flu pandemic. They must have been tired then, right? They didn’t even have proper health care and many people were malnourished, yet they carried on. Are we just more wimpish than they were?
Possibly. But the climate emergency is such an overwhelming worry that most of us suffer from a paralysing sense of helplessness. Plus we no longer believe in the society we belong to; we no longer salute king and country, nor do we believe in the class system. Most of us don’t believe in God. I’m not decrying this situation – it’s healthy in many ways, but it does prevent us from accepting the situation in which we find ourselves (by acceptance I don’t mean resignation, still less apathy, but that’s a post for another day: change begins with acceptance just as finding your way means knowing where you’re starting from.)
There are many other factors, too, which might be making us tired. There’s the relentlessness of technology; the fact that we can be plugged in 24/7; the fact that we are constantly being distracted by what’s happening on a screen. There’s the absence of human contact and the erosion of community, for which social media are a very poor substitute.
So let’s cut ourselves some slack. We’re tired and we’re proud!
In other news, I’ve found a bike! The bike shop is a real find – they phoned me when the new stock came in and I said I’d be there the next day. When I got there I was hoping they wouldn’t have sold the one I want but I found it reserved with my name on it! I’m having mudguards and a saddle rack fitted, then I’m picking it up tomorrow. Can’t wait!
Kirk out
Sarada Gray 