Hey there! I am fuuuuucking knackered, sat cross legged on a hotel bed in London, and it’s probably a bit too late for me to be doing one of these, but I’m fuckin here innit tapping away, so let’s have a crack at it shall we?
Here’s a question coming in:
hi tom! my name is jack (not the other dickhead /j), and i’ve kinda grown up alongside you and your content these past couple years. i guess i’ve also taken a veer into staying stationary, and unmoving, as the world outside only gets scarier and more overwhelming.
i have a lot of conditions that prevent me from doing lots of things, all that i’m being treated for with counselling, medication, etc. i’ve been through a lot, and at the moment spend most of everyday in bed, either listening or writing music.
it’s hard to see a way out in a world that i feel so disconnected from, and so intrinsically disagree with. everything is so materialistic and driven by numbers, money, fame, etc. the political, economic, social landscapes – are all just a bit shit innit lol. and i feel hopeless to change any of it.
i guess i was wondering if there’s been any vice of sorts you use to move past this if you feel similar? love and the people closest to me comes to mind, and i live to see them happy – it just makes me sad we have to live in such a cruel world.
Sorry you’ve got all this on your head pal, that’s heavy innit. And all of it, yeah, all that sounds well, well heavy.
I feel like I don’t have lots of word of comfort to say on the world’s great problems, if I’m truthful with you. But I can try to provide some clarity on why your world’s important, and why you shouldn’t feel hopeless, and you should get out there and connect with and enjoy what you’ve got.
Here’s a couple things I try to stick by that keep my head above waters in the times when the world feels a little too heavy.
- Things that gives you some peace, follow ’em with all you’ve got.
If you have those interests & activities that can take you out of your own life, they are precious. That’s connection right there. These things’ll change over time. But if they work for you right now, that’s a beautiful thing not be underestimated.
I mean, take me: isn’t it a bit weird I’m obsessed with this 75 year old man from New Jersey? Yeah! But my god, if Bruce doesn’t just speak to something deep down in me I can’t put my finger on, and give me a rich understanding and realistic perspective of this world, then that’s something special, innit? Gives me hope. I can’t really explain why. His messages and story just speak to me. Gives me great peace.
And so does doing this blog, and writing, and performing, and chatting, and drawing, and music, and many many more things.
But five years ago what made me tick and fall into a world away from this one was deeply different than it is now. It will be deeply different in five years time from now, as well. That’s the point. Listen to who you are right now and nurture the things you truly love, and then all of a sudden, the weight is a lot more manageable.
2. “What you see is all there is.”
This was something I was told by a good friend recently, and it’s really stuck with me. It’s true, innit. If all you dive into all this horribleness out there and get right focused on that, then yeah, it’s fucking horrible! It is! No sugar coating that.
Delving into & understanding the deep pain of the world can have great benefit. You can do great good. But for your own peace, a balance of exploring those subjects that suits you at this very moment is also deeply important. Because we’re all in very different places. And if you’re feeling fragile (which there’s no shame in at all), I’d make your main priority trying to get out of bed and taking that as a fuckin’ win each day. Not coming to terms with the great pains of the world man. You gotta look after yourself.
Finally, yeah, there are problems. Big ones. But alongside those problems, there’s a whole fuckin’ world out there, so many perspectives, lives, people. Fuckin’ 8 billion of ’em. All happening and interweaving and living RIGHT NOW. And at the end of the day, all we have is each other.
Maybe this wasn’t so helpful, I’m pretty spent and I’m committed to finishing this up now. I definitely could have put some more thought into this but Jack mate, I hope this cheers you up a bit and you know you’re not the only one out there focused on all the shite in the world. But you have your own world man. And that’s important.
This world is fucking brilliant and beautiful, just as it is painful. Have a balance of it all. Don’t feel guilty for what you’ve got, but please do feel very, very grateful.
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Mate I think I’ve done all the font sizes wrong on this and the “what you see is all there is” is slightly bigger than the other bullet point I made but I can’t figure it out and I’m tired so fuckin
fuck this im going to bed man have a lovely night everyone
