Hmmm, is it just me, or are we collectively running out of gas?
“Hey, how’s it going?”
“Oh man, I’m so tired!”
“Me too. I’m running on empty.”
It is a common conversation these days. So common, in fact, that it is starting to both intrigue and concern me. For the record, I share the problem. It is more than just a passing thing. Something is wearing us out. But what?
We could blame it on the nasty winter and the slow arrival of spring. But it has to be bigger than that. What is robbing us of our energy? I don’t know. But there are some prime suspects.
SUSPECT #1: POISONOUS POLITICIANS
There is U.S. President Donald Trump, his obsession with the border wall and his general buffoonery whenever he is in the public eye. A man of this disruptive and disreputable nature holding the highest office of the world’s superpower takes its toll in worry and chagrin
There is Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the SNC-Lavalin quagmire he has trapped himself in. He had the opportunity to take the high road, but chose otherwise. Ousting Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott from the Liberal caucus left many shaking their heads.
And there is tiny despot Doug Ford in Ontario on his slash and burn rampage through the public service. Drunk with power, Ford is making enemies in every quarter. Unfortunately for us, he is the type of man who measures his self-worth by the number of enemies he has acquired.
SUSPECT #2: THE DIGITAL RAT RACE
Our work lives have been taken hostage by digital technology. It is supposed to make our lives better, but instead it raises our blood pressure. E-mails arriving at the rate of one every two minutes. Fidgety, temperamental software that works or does not work on its own whims. We are the rats chasing the cheese that the technology promises but seldom delivers.
SUSPECT #3: SENSORY OVERLOAD
Television with 100+ channels. Analog, digital and internet radio. Digital devices that are never turned off. Social media sites that cry out to be checked. Electronic billboards that spew out a new message every ten seconds. We are bombarded by a plethora of sensory messages every waking hour that are well beyond what our brain is equipped to handle.
Is it the cumulative effect of all of the above? I wish I had the answer, but I only have suspicions. Something is taking the wind out of our sails. This much I know: We need to figure out what it is and fix it before restless nights and days on autopilot permanently short-circuit our brains.
~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet
~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
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Tags: digital rat race · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · politicians · sensory overload · wind in our sailsNo Comments