THE FIRST DAY OF FEELING WELL AGAIN

-


It wasn’t, hopefully, too serious, just enough to keep you in bed, and feeling miserable, for three or four days. You had a bowl of lentil soup - hot and bland - and sensed its worthy goodness and nutritious calm. Someone brought you a cup of weak tea and touched you deeply with their attention. While you were feeling poorly, certain themes of your life took a back seat. It didn’t seem to matter so much what was happening at work. You didn’t have the energy to get roused by news. You didn't feel obliged to respond to texts. Your sexual appetites were in recession. Things you’d never normally even notice are now sources of positive pleasure; being able to breathe easily, swallowing without wincing. You can focus on the the back of your head; there’s not a trace of the throb that was your agonising companion for the last 48 hours. Your eyes feel energetic. Your brain is coming alive. The mere act of standing up (without feeling dizzy or weak) is a delight. It’s fascinating to put on proper clothes - and going outside seems, briefly, like a privilege. As we reemerge into the world, we are reconnecting with so much that had been taken for granted. We’re not literally required to be ill to draw pleasure from existence. Potentially we could generate gratitude by a pure exercise of the imagination - but given what our distracted spirits are like, we might just have to wait for the special prompt of a few days of sickness in order to notice the true wonder of being alive.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CLASSICISM

-
Image
At present, our culture is dominated by a Romantic outlook; its predecessor, and in many ways its more deserving alternative, is a Classical view of life. Classicism is founded upon an intense, pessimistic awareness of the frailties of human nature and on a suspicion of unexamined instinct. The Classical attitude knows that our emotions can frequently over-power our better insights, that we repeatedly misunderstand ourselves and others, and that we are never far from folly, harm and error. In response, Classicism seeks via culture to correct the failings of our minds. Classicism is wary of our instinctive longing for perfection. In love, it counsels a gracious acceptance of the ‘madness’ inside each partner. It knows that ecstasy cannot last, and that the basis of all good relationships must be tolerance and mutual sympathy. Classicism has a high regard for domestic life; it sees apparently minor practical details as deeply worthy of care and effort; it doesn’t think it would be degrad...
Dive In »

AGAINST SKIING HOLIDAYS

-
Image
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a normal person in search of a holiday will enjoy skiing; they will delight in bracing mountain air, thrill at going down mogul dotted slopes and feel pleasantly exhausted after a day of parallel turns. This assumption about pleasure joins a host of others proposed by the modern world. Normal people will equally enjoy white wine, the Amalfi coast, the novels of Margaret Atwood, dogs, high heels, small children, Miami beach, oral sex, Banksy, marriage, Netflix and vegetarianism. We may legitimately delight in all of these elements; the issue lies in the immense pressure we are under to do so. The truth about ourselves may, in reality, be a great deal more mysterious than the official narrative allows. Whatever our commitments to decorum and good order, we may in our depths be far more distinctive than we’re supposed to be. We may — once we become sensitive to our faint tremors of authentic delight and boredom — hate the idea of jogging, the the...
Dive In »

FAME

-
Image
Fame seems to offer very significant benefits. The fantasies go like this: when you are famous, wherever you go, your good reputation will precede you. People will think well of you, because your merits have been impressively explained in advance. You will get warm smiles from admiring strangers. You won’t need to make your own case laboriously on each occasion. When you are famous, you will be safe from rejection. You won’t have to win over every new person. Fame will mean that other people will be flattered and delighted even if you are only slightly interested in them. They will be amazed to see you in the flesh. They will ask to take a photo with you. They will sometimes laugh nervously with excitement. Furthermore, no one will be able to afford to upset you. When you’re not pleased with something, it will become a big problem for others. If you say your hotel room isn’t up to scratch, the management will panic. Your complaints will be taken very seriously. Your happiness will beco...
Dive In »