Peace in a Pod

The 21st century human is, by nature, a lazy article. We have access to all the information that has ever existed at the touch of a button. We can order food, products and services straight to our door without ever leaving the house. It seems all we have to do these days is turn up, no effort needed. In an age where technology assists us so much in our day-to-day lives, it can be very easy and very tempting to take the foot off the pedal, to procrastinate, to become demotivated, to think ‘everything’s fine the way it is, and even if it’s not fine… meh’. Our parents and grandparents had none of that, no smartphones or computers, no central vacuum systems, no fancy kitchen appliances for spiralising or what have you; they just got shit done. And they didn’t complain about it either. Watching ‘Reeling in the Years’ and ‘The Way We Were’ with my parents these last few weeks has truly hammered it home for me how easy we have it nowadays in certain aspects of life and work. So why are we so ...

Judging by the title of this blog post, you may be forgiven for thinking that I have lost all concept of time in this lockdown and that a Halloween-related essay is about to unfold before your eyes. But sadly, readers, the reality is that ghosting is an all-year-round occurrence, and is something that has particularly piqued my interest as I meander down the road of self-discovery. As spooky and unexplainable a phenomenon as the Loch Ness Monster and UFOs? Or just an escape tactic we grasp for when we feel like our backs are to the wall? Let’s explore. A definition of ghosting is as follows: “abruptly cutting off contact with someone without giving that person any warning or explanation for doing so” (Gould, 2020). While the term is associated nowadays with the cessation of online or over-the-phone communication, the actuality of up and disappearing out of a relationship like a fart in the wind has always happened - I refer you to cinematic and real-life stories of husbands or wives wh...

Making a conscious decision to work on yourself and to commit to personal growth is an epiphany. It feels like you’ve been born again. It feels like a veil has been lifted and you can finally see clearly. And, unfortunately, one of the first things you see is just how unevolved and ignorant other people are, and how poorly they are handling life, whether they are aware of it or not. I realise how snobby and callous that sounds, but I mean it purely in a humorous sense and not disparagingly. Those of us who have chosen to be more proactive in how we live are by no means experts, nor are we even necessarily happier. But it is annoying to be a reflective person amid those who live more passively, and at times it can actually be quite disheartening too. I heard an opinion somewhere along the line (can’t remember where) that people go to therapy to deal with people in their lives who won’t go to therapy. Now, whether therapy is part of your self-help journey or not, the principle still stan...

I would like to start off this blog post by redefining the meaning of the phrase ‘self-help books’. Before I began ambling down this path of enlightenment, I would hear the above and think (ignorantly) “Self-help? That’s only for people with a mental problem” or “Only someone desperate and helpless would buy a self-help book”. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in having such flawed assumptions. In Ireland especially, we have quite a poor and twisted view of mental health and ill-health - a ‘shut-up-and-put-up’ culture has pervaded this country and especially the generations who grew up in an acutely Catholic society. Fast forward to 2020 where, in the last 5 years, the country has passed a marriage equality referendum as well as another concerning reproductive rights, and things look slightly better. So call them what you want - whether it’s self-help books, or personal development literature, or whatever - turning up for yourself and your mind is no longer considered a silly, fruity idea. Infac...