It's Okay To Be Tired
I think it’s fair to say there are a lot of shitty things going on right now. Between the current administration in the States, the constant unravelling stream of Epstein files, and the never-ending insistence of AI creeping into all corners of our lives, life just seems a little unbearable.
That is, of course, a very narrow scope in comparison to everything happening all over the entire world. Shitty things happen everywhere all the time. Right now though? It’s all a bit much. But I hope you will sit with me a moment when I say…
…It’s okay to be tired of hearing about it.
A side effect of the instantaneous screech of information perpetuated by constant access to the internet has created this doom-infested sense of responsibility to be aware of everything always all of the time. I’d like to argue that that demand isn’t helpful to anyone at all. I’m reminded of the phrase ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’…
You can’t help anyone effectively if you are spread so thinly.
I’m not asking you to be ignorant, though there is a case for ignorance. As I said, information is so instantaneous now. I know more about the U.S. government than I do my own. Pardon me if this is controversial, but I don’t believe that should be the case. I didn’t even know who Peter Mandelson was until he was arrested a few days ago. I’ve lived in the UK all my life.
No, instead I’m asking you to reflect on what your brain is telling you. Is what you’re absorbing even healthy?
I don’t know about you, but for me it extremely easy to get stuck in a thought-loop of “This is horrible, how can I help? Am I doing enough? What else can I do? I feel so guilty that I can’t do more. That means I’m complicit. I am part of the problem. This is horrible-“.
The only useful downward spiral is a slide.
I am sorry if I am the first person to tell you this, but unfortunately the world is always going to be shitty. At least for the meanwhile. Even more unfortunately, the people who can fix it are completely (physically and emotionally) unreachable and actively choosing not to do anything about any of it. Tracking a ‘Carbon Footprint’ means nothing 1, your recycling isn’t even being recycled 2, and none of the politicians on any side are telling the truth about anything. It’s a ‘rock and a hard place’ situation, except someone could easily pull the rock away and they’re just… choosing not to.
That’s all a bit miserable to read, isn’t it?! I don’t mean to be so depressing, I’m just trying to get you to recognise something here.
Things are shitty, and feeling bad about that doesn’t make them any less shitty. You are not a multi-billionaire in charge of a world-changing organisation (unless you are, in which case; heyyyy~). You alone cannot pull the oil from the oceans. You alone cannot single-handedly rewrite recycling laws. You alone cannot destroy fascism. That guilt your feeling over ‘not doing enough’? Get rid of it.
You care. That’s enough.
You are not responsible for the entire world and it’s woes. You are responsible for recognising how you can help, where you can help, and when it’s time to decompress & recover. None of us are doing this alone.
Turn off that damn phone.
Go play some Tetris.
I’ll see you tomorrow ❤︎
P.S. 3
What Really Happens To Your Plastic “Recycling” | Plastic Pollution Coalition↩
I recognise that the ability to ‘take a break’ from the news comes from a huge place of privilege. For a lot of people, they are living the news every single day. I won’t even try to conflate reading the news to being the news, that is a ridiculous comparison to make. My main point is that, if we have the ability to be the healthiest and most aware self we can be, we should be doing just that. A drowning person can’t rescue the drowned.↩