I’m Good…But I’m Tired

A recent conversation with a friend confirmed once again that we all have moments of hardship. For this column, hardship will be defined as unwanted events. Life rarely goes as planned. Sure, we should plan anyway—to pursue things like schooling, a relationship, a passion, or planned parenthood. Having a plan brings us some reassurance, a belief that things will be okay because we’ve got a plan.

Then, just when everything is as planned… things happen. The mill closes. The wife leaves you. COVID hits. A parent dies. Interest rates soar. A tornado strikes. The house burns down. Maybe depression sets in. Those life-sucking events gut-punch you so hard you just want to lie down—and as we age, it seems harder and harder to recover. Time is not on your side.

I am a second-degree black belt, and I remember during training being pushed to the limit and hearing, “ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE UP?”

“NO, SENSEI!”

That taught me to push through and not give up. It echoed in my head during my chemo and radiation years ago. But I’m tired now.
My motto was: You can always do one more round. And I believed it.

It’s tough these days, with crazy inflation, fake news, AI, world events, and government chaos. I have learned that what happens on the micro (personal) level is interconnected with what happens on the macro (universal) level. Are we doing the world a favor by accepting that everything is “cool”? If you want to be a cat or a dog, you’re a cat or a dog. If you want to go shopping as a furry, it’s all good. If you don’t want to present in class, that’s okay—we’ll accommodate. But is this really a good thing?

Boundaries are being stretched, and that may lead to broken boundaries, which lead to anger. As people, we all have our own personal boundaries, right? Politically, we are seeing boundaries stretched to the limit. Coincidence? Remember the micro/macro phenomenon?

If everything is just “all good,” if people in power can be above the law and we go around saying everything is acceptable as long as no one gets hurt… then why isn’t the world a utopia? Maybe we are hurt by all the changes. Maybe they came too fast. You have to train and be ready for the marathon.

Is the world really a better place than it was? If you say yes, you’ll find proof to support it. If you say no—1975 rocked—you’ll find proof to support that too.

How did we do it before? In times before safe rooms, counselors, and sensitivity training. To think we survived high school without all that… never mind the generation before us.

If we are doing so much better, why are relationships on the decline? Why is crime on the rise? And then, add every other challenge thrown at you in your personal life.

How much more can I—we—take?

Hey!

“How are you?”

“I’m good, good, good… but I’m tired.”