When I put my head on my pillow at night, I prefer to NOT remember anything when I awake in the morning. Sure I dream, just like everyone else. I just like to draw a blank when I wake up. Unfortunately, that does not happen every morning; my nightmares really suck. The few people who know me know the reasons for my nightmares. And on those freaky nights, I sweat gallons. I am plagued with many, all of them recurring, and when they do, another piece has been added to the script.
After a night like that, all sweaty and freaked out weird, a good cup of coffee and a long run chases them away - until the next time. I know that they are harnessed to me, because of what I have experienced in my past. My freedom from them, at least I hope, will come when I check out from Hotel Earth. These nightmares of mine are my personal hell. But, my check out will not happen for many, many years; just too much to do. And, I prefer to deal with my nightmares my way, even though there probably is a pill that will block them and make my life better. Well, better life through chemistry is too easy. But I must say, at least in a figurative way, we all seem take a 'pill' to help us ignore what is happening around us. This 'pill' is called apathy.
Rising prices at the pump and the grocery store? Oh hell, that stuff is a fact of life and and we can't do anything about it; I guess we took an apathy pill. Our elders constantly being ripped off from all directions? Well, that's not gonna happen to me, no sir! I'm way smarter than that. When we take our apathy pills, we can sound really stupid. Our right to defend ourselves being taken away? Oh please, that will not happen because the 2nd Amendment guarantees that right! But there are those people who are working to do just that. Apathy pills put us into a full blown coma. And, we seem to take these pills for damned near everything.
It appears that as long as we have and can get our hands on "stuff," we are apathetic about things that do not, at the moment, directly effect us. The simple examples given in the previous paragraph are certainly not the only ones; they are the current hot button topics in the media. Nobody is immune from losing what they hold near and dear. When that loss happens, we eventually get around to knowing that we should have given a damn when it would have counted. But then it's too late. Start with what should really be near and dear to you.
If you ignore your spouse, you will pay the price. If you blow off your kids, they will do the same in the future to you. The family, your family is the foundation of your life. When you clearly see this, "stuff" ceases to have its hold on you and you will not have a desire to pop an apathy pill. Now, I need a nap. Last night was hell.
copyright @2013 Terry Unger
